Juan Sebastián Pérez

With an avid interest in gastronomy since he was a child, his training took him to Le Cordon Bleu and then on a journey to many countries, but this did not dent his desire to continue discovering his own country. So, on his return to Ecuador, he packed his bags and took a gastronomic voyage to understand his land, his culture and his identity. 

Eventually, he set up Quitu, Identidad Culinaria, a restaurant that is now the bastion of Ecuador’s culinary identity, always highlighting it from a sustainable point of view. Beyond Quitu as a restaurant, Identidad Culinaria is also a project via which Juan Sebastián Pérez has done much research in the field on the traditional cuisines of Mexico, Peru and in his native homeland: in the latter, he has studied ancestral ways of growing and producing the native ingredients of communities from the four natural regions of the country.

His gastronomic perspective showcases the traditional Andean cuisine of the equatorial region in a creative way via ceviches, locros, soups, traditional rice and protein-based dishes, all prepared using innovative techniques. His cooking combines flavours and conveys the wealth of the produce, techniques and traditions of one of the most biodiverse regions of the planet.