Lima's restaurant Central has earned the top spot in Latin America's Top 50 Best Restaurant Awards. Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez, the brainchild behind the restaurant's success, received several recognitions on how he artistically and elegantly created the dishes which showcased the diversity and beauty of Peru.

Martinez shared to CNN that his dream of becoming a chef started when he was fractured several times because of skateboarding, "I was a semi-pro skater but I fractured my clavicle while skating at a park in California. Once it was fixed back in Peru, I went skating again but broke my other shoulder. That's when I stopped skating. I loved it but once I started cooking, I left all that behind and became totally involved in the kitchen."

Born in Peru, he graduated at Le Cordon Bleu in 1998 and decided to explore the world to learn more about diverse range of cuisines in countries like Italy, France, New York and South East Asia from within the core of their kitchens.

His first professional experience working in the kitchen was in Santi Santamaria's acclaimed Catalan kitchen at El Raco de Can Fabe. He eventually became the head chef in Santi Santamaria's Gastón Acurio's lauded Astrid Y Gastón in Madrid and became responsible for the opening of the restaurant branch in Bogota and Madrid.

After gathering enough experience he decided to go back to Lima and open Central. As posted in Four Magazine, the focus of his restaurant is to use clean and fresh produce "with contemporary designs so that every dish will show the country's nature and boast its abundance of ingredients." Several years later, LIMA London was made, the first Peruvian restaurant awarded with a Michelin Star.

Martinez has taken London's culinary field by storm as the Executive Chef at LIMA. The restaurant creates an opportunity for Europeans to have a glimpse of Peru's culture and lifestyle by showcasing authentic, encompassing, seasonal and fresh produced Peruvian ingredients and flavors in a contemporary and clean style.

Marquez also shared that he also dreams of becoming an architect. He said that if he weren't a chef, most probably he'll be an architect, "I always wanted to be an architect -- it's something about the contact between body, mind and hands." He also added that it's his parents who influenced him to have that dream in life. "My mother is a painter and artist and my father always encouraged me to travel."