Pía León is Latin America's Best Female Chef 2018

Pía León has been announced as the winner of the elit® Vodka Latin America's Best Female Chef Award ahead of the Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2018 awards ceremony sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, which takes place on 30 October in Bogotá and can be live-streamed on Fine Dining Lovers.

The talented chef forms half of the Peruvian powerhouse team, with husband Virgilio Martinez, at the helm of former Latin America's Best Restaurant, Central, a title which it held for three consecutive years, as well as being instrumental in setting up Mil restaurant in Cusco with Martínez.

However, at 31-years-old Leon has recently opened her first solo venture, maturing into her own style and stepping into the spotlight with her new Kjolle restaurant, which opened in August 2018 in the same location as Central. It's here that Leon is creating her own identity – still championing Peruvian ingredients, but offering a less structured seven-course tasting and an à la carte menu in a more relaxed setting. See a selection of Leon's dishes here.

Speaking of the win León said: "The elit® Vodka Latin America’s Best Female Chef award is an important recognition of my work, which is the result of ten years of learning at Central. It is also a reflection of my own project, which shows a passion for translating biodiversity into its own language.”

Pia shared more with us in about the Kjolle opening in our exclusive interview here.

Pía León takes the award from last year's winner, Colombian chef, Leonor Espinosa.