Chef
Speaker
Cristian Gómez
Chef of Tres Peces (Valparaíso, Chile)
Born into a family of fishermen, the sea forms an essential part of Cristian Gómez’s culture. What could he therefore use in his cooking other than sea produce?
Gómez is from Playa Ancha. His father worked at sea for 40 years and his uncles are fishermen too. His blood is infused with sea salt. He is all too aware of the work and effort the fishing trade requires and he wants to honour it. This is the underlying principle for Tres Peces (“Three Fish”), the sustainable fishing restaurant he shares with fellow cook Paula Báez and journalist and fishery expert Meyling Tang.
The restaurant and its menu revolve solely and exclusively around fair-trade Chilean fish, shellfish, and seaweed directly sourced from fishermen.
Before opening the restaurant of his dreams, Gómez gained years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industries through unorthodox cooking tenures such as eight seasons in the Valle Nevado sea resort or four seasons on a luxury yacht across Patagonia. He then went on a journey throughout Europe including France, Italy, Spain and Andorra. On his return, he joined Restaurante y Café Turri as executive chef until the opportunity came for him to start his own business, Tres Peces.
In parallel, Cristian Gómez has dedicated his time to the promotion of Chilean gastronomy through several radio and television programmes as well as trade fairs and food festivals across the country.
Like his fellow Tres Peces chef, Paula Báez, he belongs to the Chilean section of the international cooks’ organisation Les Toques Blanches and he is an active member of the La Guilde de France association.
