Peru, The Next Foodie Frontier
Travel To Peru
There are plenty of reasons to visit Peru: to explore ancient at Machu Piccu, spot some of the world’s rarest birds, or trek some of Earth’s deepest canyons. Yet, once you are on the ground an hungry, you may find those experience mere appetizers to the main event: food. From the rain forests of the northeast to the arid high plateau that runs like a spine through the south, Peru is blessed with incredible biodiversity a bounty that is clearly reflected on its plates.
In cities and villages, seafood markets overflow with fresh fish and shellfish, and produce stalls are piled high with native delicacies like lucuma (a subtropical fruit the color and consistency of yam) and huacatay (an Andean black mint) as well as staples like aji (hot papper) and papas (potatoes), in a kaleidoscope of color and shapes. (really over 4000 varieties of potato are grown in Peru alone)
The result is a bright, piquant cuisine that draws upon not only native Quechua culture but also almost 500 years of Spanish, African, Chinese, and Japanese immigration. Those influences shine in many of Peru’s most iconic dishes like lomo saltado ( a stir fry of beef or sometimes alpaca and onions, peppers and rice), causas ( mashed potato dumplings seved with various toppings such as hard boiled eggs) and most notably service. Peruvians have long been vocally (and justifiably) proud of their homeland’s cooking, but suddenly, the rest of the world seems to be taking note too.
In 2008, the country’s leading chef, Gaston Acurio, founded Mistura, a Lima based food festival that has since become the leading annual culinary event in south Americs. Indeed, when this years festival took place in Spetember, dozens of the globe’s most respected chefs including Rene Redzepi and Dan Barber were in attendance eager to learn and of couse to eat.