Virgilio Martínez Véliz

Virgilio Martínez Véliz (born August 31, 1977) is a Peruvian chef and restaurateur. He is considered one of the new generation of Peruvian chefs promoting the spread of Peruvian cuisine. He is known for his use of applying modern cooking techniques to indigenous Peruvian ingredients. Marie Claire magazine has called him "the new star of Lima's gastro sky." On April 29, 2013, his flagship restaurant, Central, entered as number 50 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants as awarded by the British magazine Restaurant. In 2014, Central jumped 35 places to number 15, winning the "Highest Climber" award, and later that year was named Best Restaurant in Latin America. In 2023, Central earned the No. 1 spot on the World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking.

According to a study on innovation in Peruvian gastronomy by the Inter-American Development Bank (2022), Virgilio Martínez had the conceptual idea of combining ingredients in the same dish in the same way that they are found together in the ecosystem.