Thiago Castanho

Thiago Castanho's love of food and local ingredients began at home when his father decided to turn their living room into a small restaurant to support the family. Thiago is one of the most acclaimed chefs of the new Brazilian cuisine with two restaurants: his first Remanso do Peixe; and his new one Remanso do Bosque on the edge of a national park.

Thiago's cuisine moves easily from tradition to modernity. He manages to combine comfort food and the diverse flavours of Brazil in a unique way. His food is in tune with nature showing great love and respect for the environment and for local producers. Thiago featured on Michael Palin's BBC series Brazil.

Luciana Bianchi is an Italian-Brazilian chef and food writer with a background in molecular science. She has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants cooked for celebrities interviewed many of the best international chefs and has published work in Brazil Italy Portugal Spain Korea Australia Germany and in the UK. Luciana contributes to the blog of S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants and writes for Apicius Journal. She also contributes to many international magazines and newspapers. Luciana has also written Lima the Cookbook with Virgilio Martinez.

Luciana Bianchi

Virgilio Martinez
Virgilio Martinez was the national skateboarding champion of Peru in the 1990s but, after an accident, decided to study law in Lima. During a holiday job, he discovered his passion for cooking, dropped out of university, and travelled to Canada and then London to become a Cordon Bleu graduate. After working for 10 years in Canada, Europe and Asia he became head chef of Gastón Acurio's restaurant in Bogota. Returning home, he opened his own restaurant, Central, in the Peruvian capital in 2010, recently voted the number one best restaurant by Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list and 4th position in The World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking. The 37-year-old chef also has two restaurants in London - LIMA and LIMA Floral - celebrating informal modern Peruvian cooking. LIMA is the UK's first and only Peruvian restaurant to be given a Michelin star. Martinez also runs Mater Initiativa - a foundation for research into, and protection of, Peruvian food culture.
www.centralrestaurante.com.pe
http://www.limalondon.com/

Luciana Bianchi
Luciana Bianchi is a food writer and trained chef with a background in molecular science. She has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, cooked for celebrities, interviewed most of the top international chefs, and has published work in 14 countries. Luciana is a member of the Guild of Food Writers UK, a contributor to the website of The World's 50 Best Restaurants, and a writer for the Italian International Food Guide, Identità Golose.
A frequent traveller and food researcher based in the UK, she divides her time between Latin America and Europe. With more than 20 years experience in the field, she is a gastronomy consultant for M&C Saatchi, and an Associate Lecturer at the Basque Culinary Centre. Her articles and micro-blogging have thousands of followers on social networks. Luciana is the co-author of the award winning book Brazilian Food, also published by Mitchell Beazley.