MAZ

There’s a quiet kind of intensity behind the counter at MAZ in Tokyo. No theatrics. No ego. Just the steady rhythm of a chef who’s given his life over to the work. Santiago Fernández doesn’t cook to dazzle. He cooks to connect—to land somewhere between memory and altitude, between Lima and Tokyo, between discipline and devotion.

Born in Venezuela, trained at the Basque Culinary Center, and shaped by years working under Virgilio Martínez at Central in Lima, Fernández now leads MAZ with the same ethos of exploration and respect for origin. But make no mistake—this isn’t a replica. It’s a reimagining. A journey through Peru’s vertical ecosystems, refracted through the lens of Japan’s ingredients and seasons.

At MAZ, Amazonian fruits meet mountain herbs, high jungle flavors collide with Tokyo’s fish markets, and altitudes are translated onto each plate with a kind of reverent precision. It’s a dialogue between landscapes—one that’s earned MAZ two Michelin stars and a spot on Asia’s 50 Best. But that’s not what this is about.

This is about showing up, day after day. It’s about the effort that doesn’t make it into headlines: the sourcing, the prep, the hours spent refining one gesture, one slice, one sauce. The discipline it takes to keep pushing forward even when no one’s watching. The solitude of leadership in a foreign land. The courage to honor your roots without repeating them.

These photos don’t just capture the food. They capture the man behind it. The stillness. The sweat. The focus. The care. The almost meditative repetition of a life lived in pursuit—not of perfection, but of purpose.

And at MAZ, Chef Santi gives us a glimpse of what that the behind the scenes looks like: hands that speak fluently in flavor, and a vision carried forward—plate by plate, breath by breath.