Today we’d like to introduce you to Favio Jurado.
Hi Favio, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Peru and originally began my professional path in law before transitioning into marketing and brand strategy. Early on, I became fascinated by the transformation of Peruvian gastronomy into a global cultural movement and realized that behind every successful restaurant or chef, there was also storytelling, positioning, hospitality, and brand building playing a major role.
That curiosity eventually became my career.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most influential names in gastronomy including Gastón Acurio, Virgilio Martínez, Pía León, Mitsuharu Tsumura, Jaime Pesaque, Antonio Bachour, and many others across Latin America and the United States. My work has focused on helping restaurants, hospitality groups, chefs, and lifestyle brands build cultural relevance, visibility, and emotional connection with modern audiences.
One of the moments that shaped my mindset happened nearly ten years ago during a conversation with Astrid Gutsche. She asked me a question that stayed with me ever since: “Do you want to be someone of the moment, or an eternal icon?”
For me, the answer was immediate: an icon.
That perspective completely changed the way I approached my career and life. I understood that building something lasting is not about chasing trends or temporary attention. It’s about persistence, reinvention, and long-term vision. It’s about evolving many times throughout your journey — from being self-taught to becoming professionally formed, from searching for opportunities to creating them, from opening businesses to learning how to face the world without fear.
Another moment that deeply impacted me happened earlier this year during a dinner at Eleven Madison Park with Virgilio Martínez. During our conversation, he told me something I’ll never forget: that since I left Peru, I’ve actually supported and accompanied Peruvian gastronomy even more strongly from abroad. He told me not to let anyone take my place in my home country, but that he loved seeing me help open doors and create impact from outside Peru, in markets where my role could become even more crucial.
That conversation gave me a lot of clarity about my purpose and the kind of bridge I want to become between Latin America and the world.
As my career evolved, I became increasingly connected to the international hospitality and gastronomy scene through some of the world’s most important industry platforms and events, including The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Taste of Paris, IMEX America, Bar Convent Brooklyn, and Tales of the Cocktail.
At the end of May, I’ll also be attending North America’s 50 Best Restaurants in New Orleans for the first time as an invited guest, and I’m honestly very excited and ready for the experience. It feels special not only because of the importance of the platform itself, but because it represents years of persistence, growth, and passion for an industry I deeply admire.
Today, I continue working at the intersection of gastronomy, hospitality, branding, and culture. I strongly believe gastronomy is no longer built only inside the kitchen — it’s also built through storytelling, experiences, community, design, media, and human connection.
For me, the most rewarding part of the journey has been helping carry Latin American culture — especially Peru — into new conversations and new spaces around the world.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. I think one of the biggest misconceptions people have when they see someone attending major industry events or working with recognized brands is that the journey happened quickly or smoothly. In reality, it’s been years of uncertainty, reinvention, risk, and constantly proving myself again and again.
Coming from Peru and trying to build a career connected to gastronomy, branding, and hospitality internationally was not the traditional path. When I started, marketing within gastronomy in Latin America wasn’t even really understood the way it is today. Many people only saw restaurants through the culinary side, so carving out a role focused on storytelling, positioning, digital culture, and brand strategy required a lot of persistence and vision.
Another challenge was learning how to evolve constantly. I’ve had moments where I had to go from being self-taught to becoming professionally formed, from freelancing to building companies, from surviving projects to creating structure and long-term vision. Moving into the U.S. market also meant starting over in many ways — building relationships from scratch, adapting to a different culture and business mentality, and learning how to position myself in extremely competitive environments.
There’s also a personal side that people don’t always see. Entrepreneurship can be lonely. Reinvention can be uncomfortable. There were moments where I questioned myself, where projects didn’t go as expected, where opportunities took much longer than I imagined, and where I had to learn resilience the hard way.
People don’t always understand what it feels like to leave a small city like Tacna — a beautiful, quiet city in the south of Peru — and suddenly find yourself sitting inside a place like Eleven Madison Park, surrounded by incredibly successful and talented people who have no idea what it took for you to simply be sitting there.
Or suddenly finding yourself attending events during Art Basel Miami Beach and having people recognize you. Or being invited to the tribute dinners at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival alongside personalities like Massimo Bottura, Dominique Crenn, or Michelle Bernstein.
None of those moments happen by accident. They don’t happen for free. They don’t happen because of luck alone.
They happen because of persistence. They don’t see the years you dreamed about moments like that.
The times you doubted yourself. The moments you thought you couldn’t keep going anymore, but somehow still jumped anyway.
I think today we live in a world where everything feels accelerated — social media, AI, trends, visibility. Everyone wants immediate success. But deep down, the real challenge is believing in yourself long enough for the world to eventually see what you always saw inside.
And sometimes, when you finally arrive in those rooms you once only imagined, you realize something very simple:
it was all worth it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work at the intersection of gastronomy, hospitality, branding, and culture, helping restaurants, hospitality brands, and lifestyle concepts build positioning, visibility, and cultural relevance.
I specialize in storytelling, brand strategy, and creating emotional connections between brands and modern audiences. I’ve always believed the most successful hospitality concepts today are not only about great food or design, but about building identity, aspiration, community, and memorable experiences around them.
What I’m most proud of is having built an international career while still representing Peru and Latin American culture globally. Coming from a small city like Tacna and eventually becoming part of conversations happening at major hospitality, gastronomy, and cultural events around the world has been incredibly meaningful to me.
A major turning point in my career came after studying at Kellogg School of Management and later at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. My mentality became much more practical and globally oriented. I learned how the U.S. market operates, how opportunities are created, and how important execution, adaptability, and innovation really are. It also gave me a much deeper appreciation for American culture and the mindset behind it.
I think what sets me apart is my perspective. I don’t approach hospitality only as marketing — I approach it as culture. I naturally connect gastronomy with lifestyle, tourism, art, nightlife, fashion, design, and human connection. I’ve built my career by being deeply immersed in the industry itself, constantly evolving, learning, traveling, and putting myself in spaces that challenge and inspire me.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I’d probably just tell people to trust themselves more and not be afraid of reinventing their lives.
At some point, everything suddenly hits you emotionally. You start talking to your inner child — the version of you that took the risk, left home, and kept going even when things felt uncertain. Especially when you come from a place where maybe you didn’t have the same access, the same connections, or the same financial advantages as others.
And yet… somehow you still made it.
You realize that being in certain rooms, attending major events, meeting people you once admired from far away — none of that happened by accident. It happened because you persisted long enough to become the person capable of getting there.
Because even when life, circumstances, or people told you “no,” you decided to keep saying “yes” to yourself.
There were incredible moments, but also moments that completely shook you and forced you to grow. And honestly, both were necessary.
So if there’s one thing I’d say, it’s this: celebrate yourself more. Talk kindly to the younger version of you that believed before anyone else did. And when life finally places you in the rooms you once dreamed about, allow yourself to enjoy it — because it means every risk, every sacrifice, and every reinvention was worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.faviojurado.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faviojurado/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faviojurado
