Chef Biography
Born in 1966 in Necochea, Buenos Aires, German Martitegui spent much time alone as a young boy, experimenting with and learning from his grandmother. He studied International Relations and Foreign Trade at the University of Salvador, but his true love was cooking. At age 19 he began working in catering kitchens, and in 1989 at the age of 23, he went to France, starting under Great Chef Georges Blanc. He then worked at the Fitz Roy hotel, and they invited German to work on their new summer restaurant on Corcega Island.
He returned to Argentina in 1992 to become chef of hotel La Casada de Bariloche on the Argentine Patagonia. At age 25, Chef German went to California to work the kitchen ladder at restaurants like Patina, La Brea, and Campanilis to learn the California cuisine.
In 1994, Chef German returned to Argentina under Great Chef Francis Malmann at his beach store in Punta del Este (Uruguay) and his two famous restaurants in Buenos Aires, Patagonia Sur, in the La Boca barrio section, and Cholila.
In 1998 he became the executive chef of Agraz Restaurant in the Caesar Park Hotel. In December of 1999, South America’s mid-summer, the Great Chefs team showed up at Agraz to tape Chef German for their Great Chefs of the World television series on the Discovery Channel.
In 2004, Chef German Martitegui created Restaurant Casa Cruz, and in 2009, opened Tegui Restaurant (the last five letters of his name), where he remains, in 2016.