The character arc of Pia Leon

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born in Lima in 1986. Between then and now sit her mother's catering business at sixteen, Le Cordon Bleu in Lima, a spell at Astrid y Gaston, a season at El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, a return to Lima in 2009, the head chef's job at Central, her own restaurant Kjolle in 2018, and the title of World's Best Female Chef in 2021. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Pia Leon?

She ran the best kitchen in the region, then opened her own.

She was working in her mother's catering business at sixteen, which is where most chefs actually start rather than at a school. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Lima, cooked at Astrid y Gaston, and then went to Spain to El Celler de Can Roca, which at various points has been called the best restaurant in the world.

In 2009 she came home to Lima and joined Central, the restaurant run by Virgilio Martinez, whom she later married. She became its head chef. Central spent those years climbing every list there is, and the person running the kitchen while it did that was her, which is a fact that took the food press an unreasonably long time to say plainly.

In 2018 she opened Kjolle, her own restaurant, in the same building. It is built on the ecosystems of Peru, ingredients grouped by the altitude and the ground they come from, which is a way of cooking a country rather than a cuisine. In 2021 the World's 50 Best organisation named her the World's Best Female Chef. Her line is worth reading for 2018: the difference between running the best kitchen in the region and putting your own name on the door.

The moments

Pia Leon's timeline.

The 2000s

~2002

Her mother's catering business

Milestone, and it changed everything. Sixteen, in a working kitchen, which is where most of this trade is actually learned.

~2006

Le Cordon Bleu in Lima

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The formal training, added on top of the kitchen she already knew.

~2008

A season in Spain

Milestone, and it changed her direction. One of the most demanding kitchens in the world, by way of one of Lima's best.

~2009

She came home to Central

Milestone, and it changed everything. Back to Lima, into the kitchen that would spend the next decade climbing every list there is.

The 2010s

~2013

Head chef

Milestone, and it changed everything. Running the kitchen of one of the most talked about restaurants in the world, in her twenties.

1 Jun 2017

Stay at Central, or open her own

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: open Kjolle, taken, or stay head chef. Kjolle opened in 2018, and in 2021 she was named the World's Best Female Chef.

Jul 2018

Kjolle

Milestone, and it changed everything. Her own name on the door, built around the ecosystems and altitudes of Peru.

The 2020s

Jun 2021

World's Best Female Chef

Milestone, and it changed everything. Three years after opening her own place, the title.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is on the plate: Peru's altitudes treated as a way of organising a menu, and a generation of cooks in Lima who can see where the ceiling is not.

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Pia Leon: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Pia Leon's character arc?

A girl working in her mother's catering business at sixteen who trained in Lima and Spain, came home to run the kitchen of one of the world's most celebrated restaurants, and then opened her own in 2018.

What were the turning points in Pia Leon's life?

Working in her mother's catering business at sixteen. The season at El Celler de Can Roca in Spain. Returning to Lima in 2009 to join Central, becoming its head chef, and opening Kjolle under her own name in 2018.

What is Kjolle, the restaurant Pia Leon opened?

Her own restaurant in Lima, opened in 2018. It is built around the ecosystems of Peru, with ingredients grouped by the altitude and the ground they come from, which is a way of cooking a country rather than a cuisine.

Was Pia Leon named the world's best female chef?

Yes, in 2021, by the World's 50 Best Restaurants organisation. It came three years after she opened Kjolle under her own name, having spent the previous decade running the kitchen at Central in the same building.

Where did Pia Leon train?

At Le Cordon Bleu in Lima, after already working in her mother's catering business from sixteen. She then cooked at Astrid y Gaston in Lima and at El Celler de Can Roca in Spain before returning home in 2009.

What did Pia Leon do at Central?

She joined in 2009 and became its head chef. Central spent those years climbing every restaurant list there is, and she was running the kitchen while it did, a fact the food press took an unreasonably long time to state plainly.

Where is Pia Leon from?

Lima, Peru, where she was born in 1986. The exact date is not in the public record, so this page publishes only the year. She trained, worked and opened her own restaurant in the same city.

Where does this timeline of Pia Leon's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Pia Leon isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

The World's 50 Best Restaurants, World's Best Female Chef award record, 2021.
Kjolle restaurant, Lima, its own published record.
Culinary press profiles, including Identita Golose and Reporter Gourmet.
Note: she has no English Wikipedia article of her own, and appears in the article on Virgilio Martinez Veliz.