Days after Peru’s top chef Gastón Acurio was robbed by six armed bandits aboard Aqua Expeditions’ luxury river ship, the culinary celebrity described the raid as “an isolated incident,” and said that he and his family would definitely visit the Amazon region again.
“I thank everyone for their support and their love,” posted Acurio on his facebook page. “It was just a fright, an isolated incident. The Amazon is a magical, emotion- and adventure-filled place that no one should miss out on. Visit the Amazon, you won’t regret it. My family and I say only one thing: we will be back.”
On July 25, 2009, Acurio and his family, as well as photographer Walter Wust and the remaining passengers aboard the 400-ton, 24-passenger “Aqua,” were robbed by six armed bandits. No injuries were reported.
Acurio is a Peruvian chef, businessman, TV host, author, and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. As one of Latin America’s most acclaimed chefs and a true culinary visionary, Acurio contributed to the development of “novoandina,” cuisine, a redesigned Peruvian cuisine fusing traditional recipes with innovative new ingredients and presentations. From his first Astrid y Gaston restaurant, founded with his German pastry-chef wife, Astrid Gutche, they have developed the T’anta cafeterias, the La Mar fish restaurant and its franchises in several cities worldwide, Pasquale Hnos sandwich retaurants, and Panchita.
