Peru
http://www.theworlds50best.com/regional-spotlights/peru
Peru – A land of a thousand flavoursPeru captures the imagination of its visitors thanks to its beautiful ancient civilizations, customs that have survived over time and a unique geography of rural and urban landscapes that add to and reflect the beauty of the Pacific ocean.
The gateway to the country is its capital, Lima, known as the ‘City of Kings’. Here its historic centre, declared Cultural Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO, offers up plenty of surprises with colonial architecture and the remains of the Inca and pre-Inca civilisation to discover.
But let’s talk about food. The Peruvian cuisine is a crossroads of cultures; it is a melting pot of pre and post-conquest dishes that have been added to and changed by immigrants from around the world, especially from Asia. The result is a cuisine that blends centuries of tradition and recipes with deep ancestral roots with new and exciting combinations.
A wide and diverse larder
Peruvian cuisine has at its disposal a vast array of local ingredients that add to its diversity. From the thousands of varieties of tubers, including those dating back to ancient time, and coloured corn to rare fruits, seafood and meats, the country’s larder is full. And it would be nothing without its staple ingredient, the chilli, which in Peru is regarded as the DNA of a meal. Small and powerful and available in all imaginable colours and flavours, the chilli is the beating heart of Peruvian food.The dishes
The Pacific ocean, reaching the coast of Peru throughout its territory, has long been a source of supply. In the past fish was eaten raw in simple preparations to which is added lemon juice, coriander, garlic and onions – ingredients brought over by the Spanish. And so, from this meeting of two worlds, the cebiche or ceviche, the Peruvian signature dish, was born. The mixtures did not end there; the Japanese, who settled in Peru, developed Nikkei food (Japanese and Peruvian fusion), and Chinese immigrants created Chifa food.In Lima, as well as the typical food of the city, visitors can try the cuisine from the country’s other regions. Some, like those from the Amazon, even use ingredients of rare names and flavours that have been patiently revived by tracing formulas that were kept alive in the collective palate and recreated in restaurants.
A typical Lima menu includes cebiches, secos (stews) huancaína-style potatoes (made with ricotta or feta cheese), causas (potato-based dishes), chilli chicken and other dishes, like the famous anticuchos – brochettes usually from cow hearts. There are also the sanguches – turkey or pork sandwiches where the meat is slow cooked over firewood. Desserts are generally very sweet and often contain fruit and evaporated milk. The best known are suspiro limeño, and picarones, fried, with a hint of anise and which are incredible when bathed in dark and fragrant honey.
For all budgets
In Lima, a traveller can eat incredibly well whether in an upscale restaurant, from a street cart, in the picanterías (a traditional restaurant) or in huariques (taverns). At a wide range of prices you can find efficient service from trained staff, because good eating is part of Peruvian people’s lives. You can access different menus on the carts, in restaurants in the “picanterias” or in “huariques” (taverns), and also in upscale restaurants. Another possibility to approach this is to visit food markets, where in addition to seeing ingredients, you can try juices of surprising flavours and dishes that are fresh and prepared daily.About Raquel Rosemberg – Academy Chairwoman
Raquel Rosemberg is Chair of the S.Pelelgrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants for South America (excluding Brazil).
Raquel Rosemberg is food editor of the magazine “El Conocedor” in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and journalist for the Ollas & Sartenes supplement of Clarín newspaper in Argentina. Her first book Sabores que Matan, comidas y bebidas en el género negro-criminal [Flavours that kill, food and beverages in the black-criminal genre], is published by Editorial Paidós, and brings together a collection of articles that have been written over her career. Rosemberg was born and is currently living in Buenos Aires. She has a degree in Social Communication and is very passionate about flavours, without limits or nationalities.
Gastronomic Events – Mistura
For Peruvians, food is associated with holidays, so Mistura is much more than a culinary event. Organised by APEGA (the Peruvian Society of Gastronomy), Mistura has taken place every September for the past four years with more than 300,000 visitors attending annually. The event brings together the country’s top chefs and the producers that supply them and gives visitors the chance to taste their specialties for little money. The country’s top restaurants rub shoulders with the best vendors (carts), closed-door restaurants – those operated at the homes of private chefs – and cooking institutes with chefs attending from all corners of Peru, even the most distant, bringing with them their signature dishes.The festival also acts as a place for the country’s small farmers to showcase their wares. Here there’s the unique possibility for visitors to hear more about the ingredients from the men and women who work the land. There is also a pavilion dedicated to Peruvian sweets, and to Pisco, the national drink, were visitors can learn about its story, its production, and of course get to taste it.
Another major feature of the event is the auditorium, which brings together the world’s best cooks to give lectures. Each year the participants vary, but they always produce surprises. Ferran Adrià from Spain; Alex Atala from Brazil; René Redzepi from Denmark and Massimo Bottura from Italy are among those who have given talks and demonstrations in the past. Chefs and gastronomy students can also follow in their footsteps in competitions held during the event, including Best Young Chef and Best Baker.
Mistura is lived over 10 days, where the smell of the food blends with the music. It is a true party.
For more information, please visit:
Pachacútec Cooking Institute
“In Peru, one out of ten young people have the good fortune to receive a great education. I was one of them. I could go to Europe when there were no cooking schools in the country.” said Gaston Acurio. That was one of the reasons that led the chef and his colleagues of APEGA (Peruvian Gastronomy Association) and others to join the work of The Arzobispado de Callao and support the institute, aimed at young people with a talent for cooking, but without financial resources.The Pachacútec Cooking Institute is a social development project, which was created in one of the poorest areas of Lima, in the midst of its sand mountains. Each year it receives 500 applications, of which 180 are selected. Candidates then undergo a series of assessments with only 20 students eventually selected for the course. Then, for a minimum monthly fee, these students are taught by the best chefs in Peru and guests who come to give workshops or donate their books to the great library.
The course lasts for two years, after which time the cooking of the best student graduates can be tasted in some of the best restaurants in Lima.
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Pisco, the national drink
This grape based drink was born in the sixteenth century and came to see the world from the Peruvian port of Pisco, in the valley of the same name.
It is distilled from fresh grape Pisco musts (Quebranta, Negra Criolla, Mollar, Italia, Moscatel, Albilla, Torontel y Uvina) recently fermented, using methods that maintain the traditional quality principle, established in recognised production areas, and has an alcoholic content of 38-48% abv. There are a number of different varieties of Pisco: Pure, single grape variety; the ‘Acholado’, blend and ‘Verde’ (green), musts which are distilled before fermentation.
Pisco Sour
The Pisco Sour was created around 1930 in downtown Lima, where the owner of the Morris bar, known as ‘El Gringo’, mixed Pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup and Angostura bitter. Later, in the Maury hotel bar egg whites were added. Since then, Peruvians start every meeting with a Pisco sour.Where to test it
- Cordano (Carabaya and Ancash), a bar from 1905 which has been declared a historical monument.
- Piscobar Bar (between Cantuarias Street and Pasaje Tello, Miraflores) Very good place for chilcanos with the largest bar to venture into pure Pisco drink (Esquina de calle Cantuarias con Pasaje Tello, Miraflores).
- Hotel Maury (Ucayaly and Carabaya) where egg whites were first added to the Pisco Sour.
- Gran Hotel Bolivar (Jiron de la Union 958), known as the ‘Cathedral of Pisco Sour’. It is said that Orson Welles, Clark Gable and John Wayne fell in love with Pisco here.
- Ayahuasca Bar (San Martín extension 130, Barranco). It is considered one of the best bars in the world.
- Taberna Bar Queirolo (San Martín 1090, Distrito Puerto Libre), specialized in “Chilcano”, another drink with Pisco.
Information
PromPeru is the commission for the Promotion of Peru Export and Tourism. Perú Mucho Gusto is the brand by which Peru has promoted its gastronomy since 2006. For more information about Perú, please visit:Websites
- www.facebook.com/perumuchogusto
- www.facebook.com/visitperu.travel
- www.facebook.com/visitaperu
- www.facebook.com/marcaPERU
- www.facebook.com/promperu
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