En Japón, Micha lavó más platos de los que jamás había imaginado. No tocó un solo cuchillo por tres meses, y si lo hizo fue solo para lavarlo, pero eso le enseñó a no pasar al siguiente nivel sin estar listo. Le ayudó a consolidar su vocación, enriqueció su filosofía de vida y de hecho hizo más eficiente su metodología de trabajo. Ya una vez en Lima fue llamado a trabajar en el hotel Sheraton en calidad de cocinero japonés. Fue en esos seis años, tres de cocina y tres como gerente de alimentos y bebidas, cuando Micha aprendió aún mucho más. Los
cocineros antiguos, tradicionales, lo introdujeron de lleno al mundo de lo criollo. Al lomo saltado y a la sopa criolla, clásicos del hotel, amén de todo tipo de platos peruanos. Micha siente especial aprecio por José Montes, chef del Sheraton del cual aprendió mucho de la cultura gastronómica peruana. También recuerda con gran cariño a Héctor Solís y Teresa Izquierdo, quien guardaba sus aderezos especiales en un bolsillo, como los conjuros de una alquimista. Aun así, Teresa siempre compartió sus secretos culinarios con el joven cocinero.
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tacu tacu and arroz con pollo. He would travel back and forth from home loaded down with chili peppers, limes, rocotos and Creole concoctions. Who knows how he never got stopped by U.S. Customs. Right from the start, he took it upon himself to introduce Peru to the world through his cooking. When he returned home after graduating, he wanted to open his own restaurant. But his father, with his Oriental wisdom, helped Micha realize that he was unready for such a monumental step, and after thinking it over a great deal he packed his things and took off for Osaka. There, he would write a new chapter in his life, in his cooking, in Peruvian cuisine. In Japan, Micha washed more dishes than he ever could have imagined. He didn’t touch a single knife for three months, except to wash them. This experience taught him that a cook does not move on to the
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next level until he is truly ready. It helped him consolidate his calling, enriched his outlook on life, and, above all, made him more efficient in his approach to work. Upon returning to Lima, Micha got a job at the Sheraton Hotel as a Japanese cook. He spent six years there: three as a cook, and three as the food and beverages manager, where he learned even more. The old, traditional cooks there launched him headfirst into the world of Creole cooking. To the lomo saltado and the Creole soup, the hotel’s most famous dishes, as well as all types of Peruvian dishes. Micha feels a particular affection for José Montes, the chef at the Sheraton who taught him so much about Peruvian culinary culture. He also fondly recalls Héctor Solís, as well as Teresa Izquierdo, who kept her special seasonings in her pockets, like an alchemist and her secrets. Even so, Teresa always shared her cooking tips with the young cook.
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