Leon: Ingredients and Recipes

Product Information

In 2018, the chef took her rightful place in the spotlight with the opening of her own restaurant, Kjolle, also in Lima. But now, with The World’s Best Female Chef 2021 accolade – which she will officially receive in Antwerp, Flanders, at the awards ceremony on 5th October – she is stepping onto the global stage. “I’m happy – after so much work, it's the perfect moment, the perfect platform to demonstrate that although it can be difficult at times, if you have the will and you know what you want, things do happen, in their own time and at the right moment,” she says. Pre-heat the oven to 220c. Mix 1 tsp olive oil, and 3 cloves chopped garlic together in a bowl and stir in the tomatoes, coating with the oil. Lay these out in a single layer on a baking tray. Season well with salt and pepper. It was a decision that I made. I enjoyed it, but it also cost me; I suffered and I cried, but I don’t regret it. Today we have much more balanced, healthier lives. Times have changed and it’s good to recognise that certain decisions you made in the past may not have been so necessary, or shouldn’t have been so drastic,” she says.

There is Mariana, who has been in charge of the restaurants’ administration for nearly eight years. There are Alan and Diego, two other long-standing members of the team who look after the restaurants’ hospitality and drinks menus respectively. Tubers, a dish made with oca, olluco and Andean potatoes, has been on Kjolle's menu since it opened

More to discover

We play with colours a lot, and at the same time our style is simple, there are no more than four ingredients in each of our dishes,” she says. “But it’s also very well thought out. You won’t only eat well, there is also the idea that you will learn and take something away with you. It's a very friendly experience and that was something essential – I wanted it to be a restaurant where you don't feel nervous.” Finding a balance between her passions and priorities took several years and progressive attempts. In 2016, she and Martínez welcomed their son, Cristóbal. In the second half of 2018, they moved Central from its original location in the Lima neighbourhood of Miraflores to a building in Barranco, which also houses their family home. A month later, León opened her own restaurant, Kjolle. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and gently fry the crushed garlic. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and harissa and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced. Put in the meatballs and continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes with a lid on until the sauce looks about right. Man or woman, the passion you feel – if you are sure that you really want to be a chef – is carried in your heart and it’s impossible to remove, obscure or tarnish. That always comes out in the end: the result is visible.” Rip the flatbread into pieces and soak in the milk for 10 minutes. Then put the bread into a mixing bowl, add the mince and stir in the parsley, mint, oregano, garlic and some seasoning.

When she was voted as The World’s Best Female Chef 2021, sponsored by Nude Glass, the chef followed her instinct, which told her to take the opportunity. “It’s a controversial award,” she says. “But it’s an opportunity, a platform to make visible the work you’ve been doing. This year it’s my work, but also that of the chefs who will win it after me and those who won it before me. León’s turning point came when she heard that a local chef was opening a promising new restaurant in Lima. Intrigued, she arranged an interview and landed a job at the fledging Central in 2009 to work the cold station. Within five years, she had gone from being the only female cook in the kitchen to its head chef – the right hand of chef-owner Virgilio Martínez. Over her 10-year tenure at Central, León had a chance to realise that although she had high ambitions, the success she sought had to be on her own terms. “I don't want to have a rhythm of life where I have to travel four or five times a month,” she states. “That doesn't mean that I'm not clear about what I want to achieve with Kjolle or the other projects we have. I have my limits, but I’m very clear about how far I want to go, what I want to do and how I want to divide my time.” This is the lovely Emma's recipe, which she's been making for us down in Dorset since day one and which has won many admirers. As you can tell, she is a bit particular about the way it's done, but all power to her - it's the best brownie in the world.

Other cookbooks by this author

Then, there are those who came up through the ranks and are now about to take León and Martínez’s projects abroad. Nicanor, previously Central’s chef de cuisine, is heading to Moscow in Russia to open a new restaurant, while Santiago, Martínez’s right hand, is moving to Tokyo, Japan to lead the couple’s latest opening. And there’s Barnabé, who León describes as “my right and left hand at Kjolle”. The original Leon recipe uses pine-nuts rather than sunflower seeds, but I always substitute these as pine-nuts are so expensive and the sunflower seeds work perfectly. At Leon we give the veggies who eat with us quite a lot of TLC, and this curry took a long time to get spot on before it went on the menu: it's all about the balance of spices, sweetness and making sure you time the veg right so it doesn't all fall apart. The Gobi refers to the cauliflower. It's the addition of ground almonds that provides the wonderful consistency.