Between the octopus and the alpaca: Efímero, the Cusco restaurant whose chef competes in an international contest

At Efímero there is no tasting menu nor an order like starter, main course, and dessert; they are mainly based on flavor profiles and having fun with them. Currently, they offer 14 dishes to play with cravings. You can eat one, two, or three, as many as you can, with the guarantee of a beautiful presentation and the prominence of regional flavors that define their identity. Seasonal products also govern the menu, so the dishes vary from time to time and the team easily adapts to changes. The embers, as an integral part of the kitchen, are a reference to the core, to its maternal side, to the origin.

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Ingenuity is in every dish. Octopus, alpaca, pork, paiche, or tenderloin join coca emulsions, tiger’s milk, cocona, or murmunta (as cushuro is known in Cusco), as well as Peruvian wines and spirits suggested by the chef. “When we opened, we bet on a different proposal from what is being done in Cusco. We understand that there are restaurants with large menus, but we don’t want that. If we all have the same communication, none is different, from my perspective,” says Navarrete. “The beautiful thing about Efímero is that being an open kitchen, customers can see everything that happens, there is not a single screen or anything that separates the kitchen from the dining room. We show the real kitchen,” he adds. In addition, they have cared about every detail of the space, the lighting, the memories shared on the walls, the exhibition of Cusco art that is taking shape in the private dining room.

“When we opened, we bet on a different proposal from what is being done in Cusco. There are restaurants with large menus, but we don’t want that.”

Christian Navarrete Véliz, Chef of Efímero

A little over a year ago, this restaurant opened its doors. Like any novelty, the first days were prosperous, but when the low season arrived they began to worry. They were even about to close. That’s how the idea of collaborative events with other chef friends was born and the flow of customers reactivated.

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At that moment of recovery, Navarrete decided to enter the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition. His application arrived on the last day of the call, almost at the deadline, and earned him a place among the finalists. He will represent Peru in the final in Panama on September 27, under the mentorship of Emilio Macías, chef of Unanue, for which he is already training, improving his preparation times, his speech, and his presentation, as the contest demands. It is the first time that a Cusco restaurant qualifies for a regional final. Soon we will have news from this young chef whose cuisine, contrary to the name of his restaurant, stays in memory forever.