Francis Mallmann

Mallmann was born in Acassuso, Buenos Aires Province in 1956. In 1958, he moved to Bariloche in Patagonia when his father was employed as the head of the Balseiro Institute. It was there where Mallmann started working as a cook on a boat for tourists on Lake Nahuel Huapi in 1970.

At the age of nineteen, he began managing a restaurant with a partner. He then, at the age of twenty, travelled to Paris, where he spent over two years learning alongside Alain Chapel and other reputable chefs.[2]

After returning to Argentina, he spent several years driving the kitchen of a fashionable restaurant. In 1983 he decided to open his own restaurant on Honduras street in Palermo. It was open only at night and behind closed doors. During the day, Mallmann worked as a cooking teacher.

During this time, he wrote his first book, La Cocina al instante, which was published in 1984.

He began working in television in the early 1980s. Between 1987 and 1996, the program was recorded in his restaurant and, in the summer months, in Punta del Este, excluding 1992, when the program was recorded at the Seville Expo where Mallmann was representing Argentina. His visibility in television significantly influenced the reach and scope of his work.

Mallmann is Argentina's most famous chef known for his open-fire cooking. He currently runs 9 restaurants worldwide: Patagonia Sur (Argentina), Los Fuegos (Miami), Fuego de Apalta (Chile),[3] 1884 Restaurant (Argentina), Garzón (Uruguay), Bodega Fuegos (Argentina), Orégano (Mendoza), Mallmann at Chateau La Coste (France).[4]

In April 2016, Mallmann married Vanina Chimeno,[1] with whom he has two daughters. He has five other children, from previous relationships.[1]

• Restaurante Patagonia Sur