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'I would love to have Quentin Tarantino home for a BBQ': Diego Sanchez

Head chef of Lima Dubai lets us into his kitchen

Your favourite memory of food.
I have many, but I fondly remember my father taking me to the central market in Bogotá, Colombia, to eat the best chicken stew with yucca and potatoes, prepared by hand by a group of grandmothers. The market had everything - a delightful mix of cultures and people, and an array of fresh food, which amazed me each time we visited!
What's the most challenging part of your job?
The administrative tasks involved in being a chef are what I find most challenging. I often get caught up with answering emails and finishing similar tasks - even though I would prefer to be in my kitchen with my team, creating new recipes and experimenting with new products.
Do you have a personal mantra or motto that drives the way you cook food?
Don't take the easy way out. Something worth doing is worth doing right!
If you could cook for a high-profile personality, who would it be and what would you serve him or her?
I am passionate about cinema, so I would love to cook for one of my favourite directors, Quentin Tarantino. I would invite him to a casual BBQ at my house, where we could relax and enjoy a drink and some great food. I would offer him an amazing array of grilled meats: from sweetbreads, liver, rib eye (done classic style with a good basting sauce), to kidneys with garlic butter served with chimichurri sauce and, of course, some traditional blood sausage.
How often do you eat out? What's your favourite place around town?
I go out to eat as often as I can to check out what other chefs are creating. My favourite place is 3 Fils in Jumeirah: the food there is excellent, and it's always nice to talk with Chef Akmal.
After cooking all day, do you cook for yourself at home too?
I work very long hours, so I tend not to cook at home if I have been working at the restaurant that day. When I get a bit of time, I like to cook for my team and, when I have a day off, I am always cooking at home!
You're asked to invent an unusual dish - what would it be?
Recently, I played around with a dish that has been getting great feedback. I took cured duck leg and mixed it with a Nikkei sauce made with rocoto peppers, lime and soy sauce. I then combined this with confit duck breast slices and finished with foie gras shaving. The end result is a surprising combination of textures, offering sweet and sour flavours to delight the palate.
Who do you admire most in the culinary world, and why?
I admire so many, from Pedro Subijana and Virgilio Martínez to Quique daCosta and Grant Achatz, all of them have qualities that I admire. Pedro has so many years of experience in the kitchen and it has made him a master chef. Virgilio is an innovator and a culinary game changer; working with him transformed my way of thinking and cooking altogether. DaCosta has amazing technique and perfect harmony in his food, and Achatz is just out this world.
Favourite comfort food?
Arepas (traditional flat bread made from maize) with hot chocolate. A traditional Colombian breakfast, it is delicious!
One ingredient/ dish you can't stand, and why?
I don't think there are any ingredients that I don't like. I eat everything - perhaps because I love to try new foods as well as discover new cuisines.
If you could choose a last meal, what would you like it to be?
My mom's empanadas... Make that thousands of her empanadas!
Your favourite culinary destination, and why?
Peru, of course! Many people don't know how fascinating, amazing and diverse the Peruvian culinary scene is. Not only do they have a variety of indigenous ingredients and rich micro-climates, but the millions of years of preserved Inca culture have also been enriched over centuries by the influx of Chinese, Japanese and European migrants.
Where can we find you, when not in the kitchen?
I love to go for long bike rides, especially in the early mornings. I enjoy getting out of the city and catching the first glimpse of the rising sun over the Dubai skyline.
- Staff reporter