The Chef Who Left Korea for Central, the Restaurant Considered the ‘Best in the World’

In Central’s kitchen, different cultures and cooking styles come together. The staff includes Peruvians, Mexicans, Argentines, and Europeans. Sang Jung is also part of the team. He was born in Seoul and arrived in Peru over ten years ago. From the very beginning, he felt that here he could discover a new way of understanding gastronomy. He now works alongside Chef Virgilio Martínez, whose restaurant was named the best in the world in 2023. In addition, Sang brings discipline, precision, and a deep respect for every ingredient.

Before he ever thought about cooking, Sang dreamed of a different life. He wanted to be a rapper and performed at school festivals. He even says he was quite good at freestyling. However, everything changed when he was 16. While working part-time at a buffet in Seoul, a customer returned with friends to try the food he had prepared once more. That moment left a lasting impression on him and made him feel a new emotion he had never experienced before. That’s when he realized he wanted to dedicate his life to cooking for others.

Food was also a constant presence throughout his childhood in Korea. His parents ran a small shop, and he grew up surrounded by snacks, ingredients, and different flavors. He also liked to mix snacks with rice to try new textures. Meanwhile, his sister watched him in surprise. Today, he believes that curiosity still lives on in his kitchen and surfaces every time he creates a new dish.

Cooking Without Borders

Before arriving in Lima, Sang worked in Australia and the United States. However, he says that it was in Peru where he truly developed his identity as a chef. It all began when he saw a photo online of an octopus dish prepared at Central. It struck him as different from anything he had seen in European or American restaurants. So he researched Virgilio Martínez further and decided to travel to Peru. In 2015, he took a nearly 30-hour flight from Seoul and arrived in a city that at first seemed chaotic to him, though it later became a constant source of inspiration for his cooking.

What surprised him was the Peruvian food. He also discovered an enormous variety of ingredients throughout the country. Chili peppers, potatoes, root vegetables, and jungle produce opened up a whole new world for him. That’s why he says Peru is a creative country with a lot of freedom when it comes to cooking.

Today, Sang works as a corporate chef at Central. He oversees the kitchen and also helps create new dishes. In addition, he participates in projects and events both within and outside the country. From his Korean perspective, he finds many similarities between the two cuisines. For example, he highlights the preference for intense flavors, spiciness, and raw seafood. He also emphasizes the wide variety of fresh, dried, and fermented ingredients found in both Korea and Peru.