A Peruvian chef, author and culinary diplomat, connecting gastronomy, culture and people across continents, from the Pacific shore of Peru to where two oceans meet.
“Gastronomy is the universal language I learned before any other.
Juan Danilo Zegarra Presser
The story
For Zegarra Presser, the culinary arts are more than a profession: they are his centre of discipline and most authentic form of artistic expression. Raised by his grandmother, he spent his childhood observing her in the kitchen, a formative experience that ignited a lifelong passion.
He discovered early that gastronomy is a universal language. Driven by his natural charisma, he made cooking his primary means of communicating and connecting with people across the globe, bridging cultural barriers long before he mastered the multiple languages he speaks today.
With more than two decades of international experience across Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, he has built a career at the intersection of gastronomy, innovation and cultural diplomacy. He previously served as Global International Business Development Manager at Verstegen Spices & Sauces B.V. in Rotterdam, leading culinary innovation and concept development across more than twenty markets.
Deeply proud of his Peruvian roots, he was recognised by the Government of Peru as an Ambassador of Peruvian Cuisine in 2015, and advocates for native superfoods as a means to address malnutrition and improve people's lives. Through training programmes, masterclasses and international collaborations, he has contributed to the education of more than one thousand chefs worldwide.
Consulting & advisory practice
A private practice for governments, hospitality groups and international food and beverage brands, translating culinary heritage into cultural value, innovation and shared human experience.
Positioning cuisine as an instrument of identity, dialogue and bilateral cooperation between nations and institutions.
Culinary concepts, restaurant brands and signature experiences, authored from heritage and built for international audiences.
Fermentation, umami development, zero-waste systems and native superfoods, from research to market-ready products.
Masterclasses, training programmes and institutional frameworks to protect culinary heritage as cultural property.
Vision
A world in which gastronomy is recognised as a strategic instrument of identity, dialogue and progress.
Selected work & recognition
Two consecutive seasons at the luxury resort group with the Peruvian restaurant brand LIMA.
Bringing Peruvian and Nikkei cuisine to one of Asia's most prestigious international destinations.
A featured Nikkei pop-up kitchen at the Mauritian luxury resort.
Protagonist of the Coca-Cola documentary, which reached more than ten million viewers and was distributed on Amazon Prime Video.
Developer of the world's first edible gin & tonic using 3D culinary technology, with ongoing research in fermentation and umami alongside Heiko Antoniewicz in Werne, Germany.
Author
It began on the Peruvian shore. A first book, published with Suhrkamp, carried Peruvian ceviche to German tables. The next follows the two currents further out, to where Japan meets Peru.
Peruanisch magisch.
His first book, devoted to ceviche and the cold Peruvian sea that yields some of the finest fish in the world. Published in Germany by Insel Verlag, part of the Suhrkamp publishing house, it carried the magic of Peru's national dish to a new audience: a chef from Lima, with one of the great German literary houses behind him.
Author profile at Suhrkamp →
Where the Kuroshio meets the Humboldt · Nikkei cuisine · in production
The sequel follows the story out to sea. In 1899 a Japanese ship reached Callao, and where Japan's warm Kuroshio current meets Peru's cold Humboldt, Nikkei cuisine was born. Dos Corrientes traces that river from a migrant's suitcase to the finest tables on earth. The first book spoke of our own shore; this one, of what happened when another shore reached it.
Institutional leadership
Platforms built to unite the whole ecosystem of the culinary arts: chefs, producers, artisans, institutions and governments, around one universal table of education, exchange and international collaboration.
The institutional and commercial home of his consulting, innovation and international culinary work.
A global stage uniting chefs and nations through the culinary arts.
An institutional body advancing culinary education and cross-cultural cooperation.
Connecting producers, artisans and institutions across the new ecosystem of culinary innovation.
Get in touch
Available for private consulting and advisory engagements with governments, hospitality groups and international food and beverage brands.
