The new Chef de Cuisine at Ceiba may have been born in northern Virginia, but he seems “born” to run the kitchen of this elegant Latin-inspired restaurant.  Victor Albisu’s mother is Peruvian; his father is Cuban; one grandfather was a baker; two aunts owned their own restaurants in Miami – in short, he was born with Latin food in his blood.  Food was central to his upbringing; in fact, he doesn’t have a single childhood memory that doesn’t involve some delectable Latin cooking or other.  Then he went to le Cordon Bleu.  But that’s getting ahead of the story. 

Victor spent every summer through his teens with family in Miami, pressing his first sandwiches at age five, mastering steaks a la plancha by seven, and paying close attention as his grandfather killed, gutted, and roasted whole pigs and caught, cleaned, and fried whole fish; while his grandmother made the rice and beans, empanadas, and croquettes.   Back at home, his mother, a great cook in her own right and owner of a Latin grocery store, reinforced his culinary bent.  In high school, Victor apprenticed with the Argentine and Uruguayan butchers at his mother’s shop.  “Beef in Argentina is like wine in France,” he explains, “the style of butchering is distinctive, and the trade is highly respected.”  Working six days a week, often until 9 o’clock at night, he learned not only about cutting meat, but making chorizo (sausages) and matambres (stuffed meats) and just about everything else about the Argentine meat culture. 

Victor’s family had always promoted a lively interest in international politics, and when he went off to George Mason University, he planned to make that his career.  In five years, he completed two degrees, but after graduation it took just a few years working with international contractors for USAID to learn that the theoretical side of international affairs interested him much more than the practical.  So at age 24, he sold everything, moved to Paris, and enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu.  He received his basic, intermediate and superior diplomas in cuisine, pastry, and wine, performing his internship at Arpège, a 3-star Michelin restaurant.  “There I was living in the thick of Les Halles, keeping restaurant hours and woken at six every morning by a fishmonger yelling about scallops – I loved every minute of it.”

Back in the states, Victor was hired as Executive Sous Chef under David Craig at The Tabard Inn, moving with him to La Bergerie in Alexandria, Virginia.  From there, he went on to work at Washington’s 701, Ardeo, and Bardeo.  When he heard that Ceiba was opening, he presented himself and was hired as Sous Chef.  After a year he took time to explore the proverbial “greener grass” on the other side of the fence.  Remarkably, the Chef de Cuisine position opened at Ceiba just when he was ready for it.  “Passion Food Hospitality welcomed me back enthusiastically, and now that I’ve come full circle, as Chef de Cuisine at the restaurant I helped to open, where the cuisine is so much a part of my heritage, there is no reason to look any further.  This feels like home, and this is where I will make a name for myself.” 

Latin food, says Victor, is all about simplicity – “some things are meant to be just ladled into a bowl, nothing more – this, after all, is the food that my grandmother made, and her grandmother before her – but now it’s touched by the hand of the chef - me.”  And thus, his own classical French training will “dress up” the cuisine, and give it pizzazz.  “My goal is to make lunches at Ceiba like the meals of my youth, down in Miami, and at family gatherings.  Food was fun, and packed the punch it needed to impress the palate of a teenager: flavor at first bite.  Dinners will follow Jeff Tunks’ philosophy of simple elegance, using a minimal number of exceptional flavors in a single dish, with a very clean and stylish presentation. 

Victor considers Ceiba’s menu to be well-balanced already with dishes based on Cuban, Argentine, Brazilian, and Peruvian classics.  He loves the ceviches, and won’t be touching the popular Black Bean Soup: it was his recipe to begin with!  He will be adding dishes such as a Frita Cubana (a Cuban hamburger) at lunch, and Empanadas Criollas, Serrano Ham Wrapped Halibut Basquaise, and Brazilian Rock Lobster and Peruvian Fried Rice to the dinner menu.  He also plans to introduce an Argentine asado, or mixed grill, which he likens to “a national pastime of sweetbreads, flank steak, shortribs, chorizo, sometimes even clams.”  But naturally, Victor wants to “dress it up”: “I’ll offer it as a tasting menu, in courses, with wine pairings, and one of David Guas’ fabulous Cuban-inspired desserts.”

The broad, sheltering ceiba tree, indigenous throughout Latin America, is thought to be endowed with mystical powers. Has it drawn Victor Albisu to the restaurant that bears its name?  With his extensive built-in knowledge of Latin American food, and his rigorous French training, he is bringing a culinary heritage to Ceiba that is second nature to him.  You might say he was born to it. 

 

For more information:
Simone Rathlé
703.534.8100
simonepr@aol.com