Grits Meet Huancaína: Chef Arnaldo Castillo is Two-Sided Southern to His Core
You ever meet someone who says “y’all” with a side of ají verde? Let me introduce you to Chef Arnaldo Castillo—Atlanta’s own culinary shapeshifter and a living, breathing example of what it means to be Two-Sided Southern.
Born in Peru, raised on Buford Highway (“Ming’s Barbecue is my go-to,” he says), and now redefining what Peruvian-Southern cooking can look (and taste) like, Castillo is the kind of chef who straddles cultures and cuisines.
As the owner and executive chef of Tio Lucho’s in Poncey-Highland, Castillo serves up bold, contemporary Peruvian dishes kissed with Southern charm. Think aji amarillo mac and cheese, flame-grilled anticuchos, and fresh local veggies slathered in salsa huancaína. It’s a culinary love letter to both his roots and his raising, and y’all—it’s ridic.
But this story didn’t start with a James Beard Award nomination (Best Chef: Southeast, no big deal). It started in the back of one of the first Peruvian restaurants in Atlanta, Costa Verde. That’s where a six-year-old chef Arnaldo Castillo—fresh off a move from Lima to Atlanta during the ’96 Olympics—watched his father, Luis, feed homesick immigrants with food that felt like a hug from back home.
Luis Castillo (Tio Lucho as he was known all around town) was a cook, a caterer, and a community-builder. And little Arnaldo? He was taking notes.
By 15, he was working front-of-house. By 23, he made the leap to the kitchen. From Minero (under Sean Brock) to Empire State South to Little Trouble, Chef Arnaldo Castillo worked every station, every shift, and eventually climbed to executive chef. But it was during the COVID pandemic that things truly clicked. The dishes he returned to weren’t trendy or technical. They were comfort foods. They were Peruvian. And they were Southern.
He started sketching restaurant concepts after long shifts. Dreaming of a place that would feel like his father’s kitchen: warm, vibrant, full of flavor and family. He hosted tasting dinners and pop-ups to build interest in his concept early support came from community leaders like brother and sister restaurateurs Howard and Anita Hsu. They are the team behind Lazy Betty and Sweet Auburn Barbecue, among others. (Read Anita’s story here.)
That dream became Tio Lucho’s—named after Luis, who passed away just two weeks before the doors opened. If the restaurant has a guardian angel, it’s him.
And now? Castillo’s story is unfolding one plate at a time. His recent partnership with Tio Lucho’s and Delta Air Lines’ Sky Club goes through June 13, 2025, and has been a huge hit. The collab benefits Giving Kitchen’s mission to help food service workers in crisis. “I’ve had people reach out while they’re traveling—mid-flight—just to say they saw my food,” he says. “It’s surreal in the best way.”
Whether through ticketed pop-ups like La Chingana or his newest patio project, Hermanita (Tio Lucho’s fiery little sister serving Peruvian street fare with a Southern drawl), Castillo is feeding Atlanta more than food—he’s serving context. Culture. Story. Identity.
He’ll tell you that lima beans made their way from Lima, Peru, to Georgia, and somehow ended up in your grandma’s potlikker. That roux and rocoto can live in harmony. That a blackened trout with aji sauce belongs on the same table as your mama’s fried chicken. “I’ve been on a Cajun kick lately,” says Castillo. “There’s something about those Southern Louisiana flavors—jambalaya especially—that really hits close to home. It reminds me a lot of arroz con mariscos, a dish we’ve got on the menu. The spices, the technique—it overlaps in an interesting way.”
When asked for one high-end Southern dish he loves, and one low-brow classic he can’t live without, Castillo shares: “High-end—Give me Gulf oysters or some shrimp and grits,” he says. “Low-brow—Sausage gravy and biscuits, all day.” Spoken like a true Southerner.
So what’s next for this Decatur-dwelling chef, husband, dog dad, and father? More food. More storytelling. And building the kind of legacy his own father would be proud of—one rooted in family, sustained by flavor, and seasoned with purpose.