María Luisa Tohalino completed her studies at the New Pachacutec Institute in the specialty of Cooking, in 2016 she completed her internship at the Casa Gerardo restaurant in Asturias, Spain. Thanks to the sponsorship of the Gastón Acurio and Telefónica Alliance “Together to transform”.

Maria Luisa was born in Nazca, where she lived with her family; However, a few years ago he settled in Lima to start his studies in Tourism, not knowing that years later he would opt for Cooking. At the beginning I did not call his attention the race tells us: “At the beginning I did not know anything about cooking, I did not have the slightest idea (…), I have a cousin who studied cooking and is currently working in Colombia as a chef, he I talk about the profession and it caught my attention. ”

I hear about the Pachacutec Institute and went to their campus to look for information and tell us about this experience. “The first time I went to Pachacutec I got lost, but it was worth it because I fell in love with the place. Not only was the atmosphere beautiful, because you study in front of the sea, but the people were also very kind and humble; it’s a place where you feel very comfortable, ”that’s why he didn’t think twice, took the exam and passed, that’s where his adventure began.

During his studies he learned that there was the possibility of accessing an internship abroad, he found out the requirements that were needed and from that moment he began to work harder to excel. Finally, on graduation day he learned that he got the scholarship; She felt excited and happy to give this great surprise to her parents: “When I told my parents, they were very happy. My mom has a huge confidence, and it makes me very happy that she feels proud of me. ” He tells us that it was an incredible moment, emotional and with many mixed feelings.

Among her dreams and future plans is to have a restaurant chain and bring a new concept to Peruvian food and for that, she tells us that she must continue studying and preparing herself, her Internship has been the beginning of a new stage in his life that will allow him to gain professional and personal experience.

Maria told us that before making her trip I look for information about the place she would go to and the restaurant. “I have been reading about your letter, about your history and organization to not go without knowing anything, I want to make the most of this experience and learn more about this beautiful item that is cooking”. Among all the information found, he learned that Asturia speaks Asturian and has been practicing and studying some basic aspects of the language. He also tells us that he found that Asturian cuisine is very rich because it uses the inputs produced in the same town, which helps to develop it. In addition, he tells us “that the fact that it is a fifth-generation family restaurant, and that it has overcome the crisis says a lot in itself.”

“This internship will help me get all that knowledge and experience that I still need, I also have many questions and I hope to return with most of these resolved”