Alejandro Chamorro & Pía Salazar

Nuema

Pía Salazar, born in Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca, Ecuador, studied culinary studies in Quito and Mexico City. She learned from some of the best chefs in the region such as Astrid Gutsche, the renowned pastry chef at the Astrid y Gastón restaurant in Lima. In 2014, alongside her partner Alejandro Chamorro, she started a new adventure, restaurant Nuema in Quito. They wanted to express Ecuador’s biodiversity from a contemporary perspective. In her avant-garde desserts, Pía displays a wide palette of flavors. She uses not only fruits but also herbs and spices to achieve striking results.

Alejandro Chamorro, head chef and owner of Nuema did his culinary studies at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Then he gained experience with the best in the world, mentions René Redzepi, from NOMA, and Gastón Acurio, from Astrid and Gastón in Peru as two of his great teachers along this path.

Nuema: Born as the culinary project of chefs Alejandro Chamorro and Pía Salazar to express in their proposal the biodiversity of Ecuador under a contemporary and avant-garde perspective. 

They are clear and precise when talking about the philosophy of their cuisine: “We try to make a kitchen in which the products of Ecuador can have the protagonism. We try to potentiate them with techniques that we learned in Europe, but always looking to be very purist in what we want to express”.

“Ecuador will become a gastronomic destination!” – Alejandro Chamorro and Pia Salazar are convinced of this. They have been working to do this for several years, since they were in college. To achieve this, they say, it is necessary to revalue Ecuadorian products; bet on purism. During their careers they have discovered countless options with unique characteristics; all with a history that deserves to be preserved. 

“We believe that the tasting menu is the best way to express everything that the vast Ecuadorian territory has, without limiting creativity. It changes and evolves according to what the season offers us at its best, trying to highlight what makes us different as Ecuadorians adapting our philosophy to products so that the idea of locality makes sense.”

“It’s Ecuador’s time. Great things are going to happen.”

Instagram: @alejochamorro @piasalazarort @nuema_restaurante
Facebook: Nuema
Restaurant web site: https://www.nuema.ec/
Restaurant address: Junín E1-44 y Juan Pío Montufar, Quito, Ecuador