The phenomenon is unprecedented. After the overwhelming success of “MasterChef Argentina”, the three juries, Germán Martitegui, Damián Betular and Donato De Santismanaged to transcend professional cooking to become true celebrities and luxury gastronomic entrepreneurs. Far from remaining solely behind the lights of the television studio, with their media exposure they turned their prestige into a brand, and their seal into a plural and international business. Today, its restaurants and cafes are icons of the gastronomic experience for an audience that not only looks for good taste, but also image and the glorious “Instagram moment”.
From the beginning of each one on the screen, the attraction was immediate. Therefore, Martitegui, Betular and De Santis understood that this leap implied another demand and another opportunity. More than a high-end kitchen, they had the possibility of being a chic segment of the business, one that takes the consumer to another status of life. And that’s why they went and did it.
Gastronomic architects. In the case of Martitegui, his cafe-restaurant called “Tegui Café”located at Rodríguez Peña 1977, in the heart of the Recoleta neighborhood, stands as an example of this elegant transformation. Merged into the global Lacoste brandin the premises there are four circular metal tables for two people resting on a wooden seat, and five square marble tables (also for two) on armchairs and benches. On the walls, pictures of Lacoste sweater designs. The space, sober in its aesthetics, high-end design and a context that combines coffee and minimalism. The public that visits their space not only has breakfast or a snack, but circulates with their phone in hand: they photograph the façade and photograph their drinks, which range from espresso for $4,000, cappuccino from $5,500 and matcha latte for $9,500. It is not just any bar in a luxury neighborhood, it is “the rest of the TV jury” that was already recognized in national gastronomy but has now become a hallmark of the region: each tray is a setting, each plate, a photograph.
For its part, Betular transformed her media career as an Argentine pastry icon into a high-end space called “Betular Pâtisserie”located at Mercedes 3900, Devoto. There, the macarons, the petits gâteaux, the chocolates and the signature cakes are exhibited as works of art, with prices that certify the change in scale: a box of 12 macarons costs $62,400 pesos, while that of 24 is $122,000. A classic snack, coffee with milk plus crescent, is around $8,000. It also allows you to reserve a private room for ten people for $850,000, which reaffirms its positioning as a luxury business. The audience is varied, from lovers of French pastries to families who want to “live the energy of a star chef”, to groups of friends who line up to photograph the display case before choosing the sweet. The act of photographing is part of the ritual: first the box, then the detail of the candy, and then the selfie. Open every day from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., on weekends the wait seems eternal with lines that exceed 20 or 30 people.
And finally, Donato De Santiswith its established brand of Italian cuisine, developed the chain “Cucina Paradiso”with several branches (Belgrano, Recoleta, Devoto). The branches reproduce the chef’s signature. For example, in the window of the branch on Pacheco de Melo Street you can see a cook making homemade pasta on the spot to sell, while the room operates as a bar and minimarket. There they sell packaged pizzas, cheeses, fresh and packaged pastas. And the soundtrack is the widest variety of Italian music ranging from Eros Ramazzotti and Laura Pausini to Domenico Modugno. The letter is entirely in Italian. The public that enters is looking for both the food and the scene. The prices speak for themselves: pasta dishes such as agnolotti del plin stuffed with osso buco cost around $21,000, while other more sophisticated ones, such as spaghetti with seafood or risottos, cost around $27,000. The public is both gastronomic and aspirational. Families, couples, fans of the chef, and also followers of the program who want to taste “what they saw on TV.”
Foodie tourism. This boom in jurors becoming luxury hoteliers is not fortuitous. It is the conjunction of three factors: media visibility, scalability of the personal brand and a consumer market that seeks to “live the experience” behind the screen.
In each of these businesses, graphics matter as much as flavor. Instagram profiles with minimalist facades, carefully arranged marble or wooden tables, symmetrical dishes, aesthetic packaging, among other architectural items, build a discourse that is part of the proposal. The diner not only consumes, but documents his experience. The before, during and after, linking his life to the aura of the chef. It’s all content for networks and for future conversations with your social environment.
From a business point of view, the leap is also big. These businesses are not mere signature restaurants, but brands that are expanding. Stores in premium areas of the City of Buenos Aires, alliances such as Martitegui’s with the multinational Lacoste, takeaway products such as Betular, which sells XL cakes for parties of a very high social category or macarons in cans for sophisticated gifts at a lower price. Donato’s is more industrial, since his retail line of “Cucina Paradiso” shows that behind him there is a large-scale production, distribution and marketing company. And although in all cases the Achilles tendon seems to be the price, it is a true reflection of the positioning. The attractive thing is the inaccessible and expensive. These are not casual dining restaurants, but gourmet appointments where the average ticket exhibits status value.
The cultural effect is evident. Television programs catapulted the faces of these chefs beyond the traditional environments of gastronomy and have placed them in the space of “celebrity lifestyle.” They could be added Jimena Monteverde, Pablo Massey and Santiago Giorginiamong many others from today and yesterday like those remembered Gato Dumas and Guillermo Calabrese.
For now, the three musketeers from the Wanda Nara show They take advantage, enjoy and bill for millions. Its restaurants are not just places to eat, but stages to see and be seen. And in an urban market like Buenos Aires, where gastronomy, sophistication and visibility generate prestige, the strategy works like clockwork. Whoever reserves a table at these establishments does so as much for the taste as for being there.
