Martha Palacios

Martha Palacios was just 11 when she began helping her father at his restaurant in Peru. She loved being there, surrounded by the rush of the dining room, good food coming out of the kitchen and people gathering around the table. She didn’t know it yet, but she was already finding her place in the culinary world.

Those early lessons have followed Palacios across countries, kitchens and more than two decades in the culinary world. Today, as Executive Chef of Jarana Aventura, Gastón Acurio’s restaurant in South Florida, she is bringing the flavors and convivial spirit of Peru to Miami while carrying forward traditions that began generations before her.

Palacios traces much of her culinary identity to her family, particularly her grandmothers. “My grandmothers, one from Cusco and the other from Lima, passed down to me their love, generosity, and that uniquely Peruvian way of bringing people together through food,” Palacios told ¡HOLA!. “My father, in turn, taught me a great deal about the restaurant world, the joy of good food, and the importance of creating an experience that goes beyond what is on the plate.”

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Becoming a chef, however, was not initially the plan. Palacios began studying business administration at San Ignacio de Loyola University before ultimately following her calling into gastronomy. Her life would also take her far beyond Peru. She spent a significant decade in Japan and went on to build culinary experience across Peru, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.

Her career became closely connected to Acurio International, the restaurant group behind some of the most recognizable expressions of contemporary Peruvian cuisine around the world. Palacios played a role in the launch of La Mar by Gastón Acurio in Mexico and spent years at Panchita, where she served as brand manager and helped champion the traditional flavors of Peru.

Her work has also earned recognition. In 2022, she was named “Best Female Chef” by El Comercio, one of Peru’s leading newspapers, after receiving the publication’s prestigious “Light of Commerce Award” in 2018. The honors mark a career that has taken her from Lima to kitchens across Latin America and now the United States.

For Palacios, however, one of the most meaningful measures of success happens at the table. “Perhaps one of the things that inspires me most is seeing someone smile after their first bite,” she says. “Knowing that through my food I can spark an emotion, create a memory, and make someone happy is what keeps me cooking.”

At Jarana in Miami, Palacios is doing exactly that, sharing the flavors she grew up with and the sense of generosity she learned from her family with a new generation of diners.