Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [35]
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Food & Drink
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STAPLES & SPECIALTIES
DRINKS
CELEBRATIONS
WHERE TO EAT & DRINK
VEGETARIANS & VEGANS
EATING WITH KIDS
HABITS & CUSTOMS
EAT YOUR WORDS
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There is a revolution going on in Peru – and it has everything to do with food.
The country has long been a place where the concept of ‘fusion’ was a part of everyday cooking. Over the course of the last 400 years, nutty Andean stews mingled with Asian stir-fry techniques and Spanish rice dishes absorbed flavors from the Amazon, producing the country’s famed criollo (creole) cooking. In the past decade, however, a generation of experimental young innovators has pushed this local fare forward by leaps and bounds. Led by charismatic Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio, this nouvelle cuisine movement, dubbed novoandina, has taken traditional cooking to unheard-of gastronomic heights.
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Peruvian food is so popular among global chefs that even famed Spanish chef Ferran Adrià incorporates Andean ingredients into the cutting-edge molecular gastronomy at El Bulli, his Michelin-starred restaurant on Spain’s Costa Brava.
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Peru, once a country where important guests were treated to French meals and Scotch whisky, is now a place where high-end restaurants spotlight local flavors, serving up deft interpretations of Andean favorites such as seared cuy (guinea pig) and quinoa. The dining scene has blossomed. And tourism outfits have swept in to incorporate a culinary something as part of every tour. In 2000, the country became the site of the first Cordon Bleu academy in Latin America, and in 2009, Bon Appétit magazine named Lima the ‘next great food city.’
The foodie fever has infected Peruvians at every level, with even the most humble chicharrón (fried pork) vendor hyperattentive to the vagaries of preparation and presentation. No small part of this is due to the media-friendly Acurio, whose culinary skill (his food is that good) and business acumen (at press time, he owned more than 20 restaurants around the globe) have given him rock-star status: children want to grow up to be chefs and his photograph seems to hang in more restaurants than the venerated local saints.
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Revolución Gastronómica, by noted Peruvian journalist Mirko Lauer and his daughter, Vera Lauer, examines (in Spanish) the complex set of social and political circumstances that gave rise to the country’s current culinary boom.
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The short of it is that you will never go hungry in Peru: from humble spots in Moyobamba to trendy boîtes in Miraflores, this is a country devoted to keeping the human palate entertained.
STAPLES & SPECIALTIES
Peruvians typically begin their day with bread and coffee or tea, and in some cases, corn tamales or a pork sandwich, although American-style egg breakfasts are available in most restaurants. Lunch is the main meal of the day and generally includes three courses: an appetizer, main and dessert. Dinner tends to be smaller – often consisting of just one dish and a dessert.
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Inka Kola, the neon-yellow soft drink, outsells global behemoths Coke and Pepsi in Peru.
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Given the country’s craggy topography, there are an infinite number of regional cuisines. But at a national level much of the country’s cooking begins and ends with the humble potato. The tuber is from Peru, where hundreds of local varieties are transformed into a mind-boggling number of incredible dishes. Standouts include ocopa (potatoes with a spicy peanut sauce), papa a la huancaína (potato bathed in a creamy cheese sauce) and causa (an architectural potato salad stuffed with seafood, vegetables or chicken). Also popular is papa rellena, a mashed potato filled with ground beef and then deep-fried. Potatoes are also found in the chowderlike soups known as chupe and in lomo saltado, the simple beef stir-fries that headline every Peruvian menu.
Along the coast, ceviche plays a starring role. A chilled concoction of fish, shrimp