Curious is the best way to describe Chef Mitsuharu ‘Micha’ Tsumura who travelled 33 hours, changing three planes for The Masters of Marriott Bonvoy and Culinary Culture dinners at the St Regis. Priced at Rs 60,000 per head, the dinners had sold out in minutes when announced. Last year, his restaurant Maido was named The World’s Best Restaurant. And yet, he has zero airs. Instead, he kept crediting his team for the success.

The 45-year-old Japanese-Peruvian chef from Lima carries childlike curiosity about people, ingredients and the places that shape food more than rankings ever will. What does India taste like to him, what might Peru have in common with it, and what could he learn from this encounter? Tsumura trained in Japan before returning to Peru, where he opened Maido in 2009 after turning down a GM promotion at Lima’s best hotel. Over 17 years, the restaurant has become his exploration of Nikkei, bringing Japanese technique into conversation with Peru’s seafood, produce and culinary traditions and his secret weapon: ingredients from the Amazon Rainforest. It is a cuisine shaped by migration, adaptation and exchange, making India an intriguing new point of reference. “I’ve never had Indian seafood but am looking forward to having it at a local restaurant,” he says.