Kurt Schmidt, Santiago Chef Behind DeRaíz and 99

Kurt Schmidt is the Santiago, Chile chef behind 99 Restaurante and behind DeRaíz, the delivery brand he ran in 2020 and 2021. Its signature burger had a quinoa or beef patty with kimchi mayo and cost CLP 4,700. I found no source showing DeRaíz still operating after mid-2021. Today Schmidt’s tables are 99 Restaurante and Prima Bar, both at CV Galería in Vitacura.

Not Juan Pablo Mellado. Some searches for a ‘Raíz’ burger in Santiago bring up chef Juan Pablo Mellado. He has no link to Raíz or DeRaíz. His restaurant was Las Cabras, a fuente de soda (a Chilean casual diner) on Luis Thayer Ojeda in Providencia. It closed in 2020, and he now cooks on YouTube as ‘Sr. Mascada’ (Diario Financiero, La Tercera Paula, Diario Financiero).

Santiago de Chile, not Santiago de Compostela. Many ‘Raíz Santiago’ results point to Spain. That Raíz is a different restaurant, opened in Santiago de Compostela in April 2026 by Diego Negueruela and Antonio Ferreiro. This article is about Chile’s capital.

Who is Kurt Schmidt, chef in Santiago, Chile?

Kurt Schmidt is the Chilean chef and owner of 99 Restaurante, one of the most awarded fine-dining tables in Santiago. He opened 99 in 2014. A year later the Círculo de Cronistas Gastronómicos named it Restaurant of the Year, and it went on to appear 5 years in a row on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants (La Tercera, The World’s 50 Best).

I followed his career through 3 projects: a pop-up, a delivery brand and a tasting room. 2 of them carry the word raíz, Spanish for ‘root’. All 3 do the same thing: they cook with Chilean produce in whatever format the moment allows.

Taller de Raíz: the pop-up where the Raíz name began

Taller de Raíz was a pop-up dinner series that Kurt Schmidt co-founded with Diego Prado and Sayil Guerra, and it was already running in 2013. Prado had cooked at Noma and served as chef de cuisine at Boragó. Guerra came from D.O.M. in São Paulo (New Worlder, August 2013).

Once a month they cooked in a parking garage, a garden or on a rooftop. They shopped at La Vega Central, Santiago’s sprawling produce market, for seasonal, endemic and overlooked ingredients. That focus on Chilean roots later gave the delivery brand its name.

The entrance to La Vega Central, Santiago’s big produce market, where the Taller de Raíz pop-up cooks bought the seasonal and endemic ingredients for their 2013 dinners (photo July 2019). Alt: La Vega Central produce market entrance in Santiago, Chile, source of Taller de Raíz ingredients. (Photo: Carlos Figueroa Rojas, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vega\_Central,\_Santiago\_20190715\_07.jpg)

DeRaíz: Kurt Schmidt’s delivery and healthy burger (2020–2021)

DeRaíz was the delivery brand Kurt Schmidt launched after 99 Restaurante closed its Providencia dining room in March 2020. It changed shape twice in 6 months. Before it, in June 2020, Diario Financiero reported that 99 was adapting its experimental kitchen with a ‘99 at home’ offer (Diario Financiero).

November 2020: 99 Restaurante in a vacuum bag

La Tercera Finde reported the launch of De Raíz on 4 November 2020 as the delivery version of 99 Restaurante (source). For a tasting-menu kitchen, the format was unusual:

• Vacuum-packed dishes, each with a QR code linking to an assembly video.
• CLP 50,000 for 2 people.
• Orders Tuesday to Saturday, placed 1 day in advance on deraiz.com.
• Bicycle delivery within 10 km of the restaurant.

April 2021: ‘nutritious cooking’ and cheap plates

By 30 April 2021, DeRaíz had relaunched as a delivery service of cocina nutritiva, with nutritional information published for each dish (La Tercera Finde). The bill fell from a tasting menu to single plates under CLP 5,500.

DeRaíz menu prices in April 2021, in Chilean pesos: from CLP 3,000 for the sugar-free chocolate cake to CLP 5,300 for gravlax; the quinoa or beef burger cost CLP 4,700 (about US$6.60 at the time). Alt: Bar chart of DeRaíz delivery menu prices in Santiago, Chile, April 2021. (Chart: Burger Breton, from La Tercera Finde (30 April 2021) data, CC0 (800×360 PNG via QuickChart; rebuild with localized labels per locale))

Cochayuyo is Chilean bull kelp, a staple of home cooking along the coast. Putting it in a tartare is pure Taller de Raíz.

Bundles of dried cochayuyo, Chilean bull kelp (Durvillaea antarctica), for sale in Puerto Montt; DeRaíz paired it with sweet potato in a CLP 4,700 tartare (illustrative photo, not taken at DeRaíz). Alt: Dried cochayuyo bull kelp bundles for sale at a Chilean market. (Photo: McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chile\_-\_Puerto\_Montt\_23\_-\_Cochayuyo\_seaweed\_for\_sale\_(6837476714).jpg)

Hacedor de Hambre (1 June 2021) added that orders went through the brand’s own website, Rappi and Uber Eats, and that the Instagram account was @deraiz.scl (source). It traced DeRaíz back to a collective cooking workshop founded about 10 years earlier. The 2 2021 sources disagree on hours: 13:00–20:30 in La Tercera, 12:30–20:00 in Hacedor de Hambre.

The DeRaíz quinoa burger: ingredients and price

The DeRaíz burger cost CLP 4,700 in 2021. It came with a quinoa or beef patty, candied tomatoes, pickled onion, kimchi mayo made with aquafaba, roasted sweet potato and grilled lettuce (La Tercera Finde, Wherelunch, 26 May 2021).

A plant-based shiitake and quinoa burger with greens, served with fries (illustrative photo taken at Vegan Love in Budapest in 2017, not at DeRaíz; no licensed photo of the DeRaíz burger exists). Alt: Vegan quinoa burger with greens and creamy sauce in a takeaway tray, illustrative of a healthy quinoa burger. (Photo: Christo, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shiitake\_quinoa\_burger,\_2.jpg)

I never got to order 1, and that is my loss: on paper this is the smartest veggie build I have come across in South America. Aquafaba, the cooking liquid of chickpeas, stands in for egg in the mayo, so the quinoa version stays fully plant-based and keeps its creamy, spicy layer. Grilled lettuce and roasted sweet potato add heat and sweetness. Most ‘healthy’ burgers stop at a raw leaf.

The 365 Sanguchez guide to veggie burgers in Santiago also recommends a ‘Mushroom Burger’ from DeRaíz, which it calls a healthy delivery ‘with the seal of 99 Restaurante’. The guide is undated. I can’t tell whether that was the same burger, a later one, or what it cost.

Is DeRaíz still open?

No source confirms that DeRaíz operates in 2026. The last reports date from mid-2021. When I checked deraiz.com on 17 October 2026, the site did not respond, and I found no closure notice either. Treat DeRaíz as a 2020–2021 chapter, and message @deraiz.scl on Instagram before trying to order.

99 Restaurante today: 12 seats at CV Galería, Vitacura

99 Restaurante reopened at CV Galería in Vitacura in January 2024, with 12 seats and a tasting menu built around Chile’s wine valleys (La Tercera Finde). The original 99 was an even smaller affair: about 17 seats on Andrés de Fuenzalida in Providencia (Diario Financiero).

Map of Kurt Schmidt’s Santiago: La Vega Central (Taller de Raíz’s market, west), Providencia (the first 99 on Andrés de Fuenzalida, 2014–2020) and Vitacura (99 and Prima Bar at CV Galería since 2024, northeast). Alt: Map of Santiago, Chile, from La Vega Central to Providencia and Vitacura. (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 (iframe embed, 800×450; download a local static poster))

At the 2024 reopening, the format was:

• A 9-course tasting menu that travels through Chilean wine valleys, starting with Huasco.
• CLP 100,000 per person, with wine pairing at CLP 50,000 (January 2024 prices).
• 12 diners, Wednesday to Saturday from 19:30.
• Kurt Schmidt as owner, Rocío Alvarado as sommelier and Sayil Guerra as chef.

What a Kurt Schmidt meal cost per person: CLP 4,700 for the DeRaíz burger (2021), CLP 25,000 for the vacuum-packed DeRaíz box (CLP 50,000 for two, 2020), CLP 100,000 for 99’s tasting menu and CLP 150,000 with wine pairing (January 2024). Alt: Bar chart comparing DeRaíz and 99 Restaurante prices per person in Santiago, Chile. (Chart: Burger Breton, from La Tercera Finde (2020, 2021, 2024) data, CC0 (800×360 PNG via QuickChart; rebuild with localized labels per locale))

Guerra’s name closes the loop. A Taller de Raíz co-founder who later cooked at Boragó, Europeo and Fractal, she now runs 99’s kitchen for her old pop-up partner. I like that a chef with this record chose fewer seats over a bigger room. In December 2025 the restaurant presented a new menu, ‘Valle del Maule’ (Guía Comino). I could not confirm its price, so treat the 2024 figures as a floor, not a quote.

In 2026 Ex-Ante reported that Schmidt had reopened Prima Bar and 99 at CV Galería and opened a Chilean-style sandwich shop in Ibiza (Ex-Ante). The Ibiza shop’s name and opening date are not yet confirmed.

Timeline: Taller de Raíz, DeRaíz and 99 Restaurante

Taller de Raíz was the pop-up, 99 Restaurante is the fine-dining table, and DeRaíz was the pandemic delivery brand in between.

Timeline of the Raíz name, 2013 to 2026: Taller de Raíz pop-ups (by 2013), 99 Restaurante in Providencia (2014 to March 2020), 99 at home (June 2020), DeRaíz delivery (November 2020 to mid-2021, unconfirmed after) and 99 at CV Galería, Vitacura (since January 2024). Alt: Timeline chart of Taller de Raíz, DeRaíz and 99 Restaurante in Santiago, Chile. (Chart: Burger Breton, from New Worlder, La Tercera, Diario Financiero and Guía Comino data, CC0 (1600×720 PNG via QuickChart; rebuild with localized labels per locale))

Where DeRaíz fits in the best burgers of Santiago, Chile

DeRaíz was never a burger joint. It was a fine-dining chef’s healthy delivery that happened to put one of the city’s most inventive veggie burgers on the menu. Recent best-burger lists for Santiago, from The Clinic (2024) to En Cancha (April 2026), feature Uncle Fletch, Holy Moly, La Burguesía, Melt and Beasty Butchers. None mentions Schmidt, and I think those lists are poorer for it. A CLP 4,700 burger from a 50 Best kitchen deserved at least a footnote.

This profile opens our Chile coverage. For a city where chefs shape the burger scene, see my colleague Lucas’s guide to the best burgers in São Paulo. Across the Andes, my guide to Mostaza in Mendoza, Argentina’s own burger chain is the closest burger coverage. Every city we cover is listed on the Burger Breton restaurants hub.

FAQ: Kurt Schmidt, DeRaíz and 99 Restaurante

Who is the chef behind Raíz / DeRaíz in Santiago, Chile? Kurt Schmidt, the owner of 99 Restaurante. La Tercera credited DeRaíz to him and to 99 in 2020 and 2021. He also co-founded the earlier Taller de Raíz pop-ups with Diego Prado and Sayil Guerra.

Is DeRaíz by Kurt Schmidt still open, and how do you order? Its current status is unconfirmed. At the November 2020 launch, you ordered a day ahead on deraiz.com, Tuesday to Saturday. In 2021 orders also went through Rappi and Uber Eats. No source after mid-2021 confirms it still operates, and deraiz.com did not respond on 17 October 2026.

What was in the DeRaíz quinoa burger and how much did it cost? A quinoa or beef patty, candied tomatoes, pickled onion, aquafaba kimchi mayo, roasted sweet potato and grilled lettuce, for CLP 4,700 in 2021.

What is the difference between Taller de Raíz, DeRaíz and 99 Restaurante? Taller de Raíz was a pop-up dinner series running by 2013. 99 Restaurante is Schmidt’s fine-dining restaurant, opened in 2014. DeRaíz was 99’s delivery spin-off in 2020 and 2021.

Is Juan Pablo Mellado linked to Raíz? No. Mellado’s restaurant was Las Cabras, a fuente de soda in Providencia that closed in 2020. No source connects him to Raíz or DeRaíz.

Where is 99 Restaurante now and how much does the tasting menu cost? At CV Galería in Vitacura. At its January 2024 reopening, the 9-course menu cost CLP 100,000 and the wine pairing CLP 50,000. The current price is not confirmed.

Is the Raíz in Santiago de Compostela the same restaurant? No. That Raíz is a Spanish restaurant opened in April 2026 by Diego Negueruela and Antonio Ferreiro.

Where can I eat a healthy or vegetarian burger in Santiago de Chile? The DeRaíz quinoa burger, with its egg-free mayo, was the best-documented chef-made option in 2021, but it is not confirmed open. Check @deraiz.scl first, and see the 365 Sanguchez veggie burger guide for other addresses.

Sources and method

This is a chef profile, not a review, so it carries no rating. Every fact comes from the press cited in the text, checked on 17 October 2026: La Tercera Finde (4 November 2020, 30 April 2021 and the 2024 reopening), Hacedor de Hambre (1 June 2021), Wherelunch (26 May 2021), New Worlder (August 2013), Diario Financiero (10 June 2020 and the Las Cabras closure), La Tercera Paula, The World’s 50 Best Discovery, Guía Comino (December 2025), Ex-Ante (2026) and 365 Sanguchez. All prices are in Chilean pesos and dated. Where a fact had only one source or may be out of date, I say so in the text.