A Taste of Peru

Mario was born in Peru, to a Peruvian father and Italian mother. He studied Culinary and Pastry Arts in Montreal and worked in landmark Montreal restaurants such as Café Ferreira, Les Caprices de Nicolas, Bice and Hotel Germain. It was during this time that Mario began thinking about his roots and Latin cuisine. He researched Nuevo Latino and went to study with Chef Guillermo Pernot from Paśion in Philadelphia and at Alma de Cuba with Master Chef Douglas Rodriguez. He pursued his training in New York City with Michelin star Chef Daniel Boulud at Café Boulud and at Daniel. Armed with his French and Latin culinary education, he returned to Montreal and opened his first restaurant, Raza, an upscale Peruvian restaurant on Avenue Laurier.

In 2005, Air Canada’s enRoute magazine named Raza one of Montreal’s best restaurants. The accolades flowed continuously, and Chef Mario later opened Madre sur Masson and Madre sur Fleury to make Peruvian food more accessible. He could certainly play the prestige card if he wanted to, but he chooses to stay true to his traditional roots at the restaurant he still runs today, Madre sur Fleury. The official menu remains family oriented, but Ki Explore teamed up with Chef Mario to create some exclusive pop-up events where you can experience a variety of Chef Mario’s cuisine inspired by Nuevo Latino, his Latin roots, French culinary education and of course his Madre, which means mother in Spanish.