There comes from Chiclayo, Peru a whale of a tale. Or perhaps, a ‘fish’ of a tale. Or a whale of a tortilla? Yesterday, in honor of their 321st anniversary, eighty chefs and fish processors from Chiclayo cooked up a tortilla of ‘raya’ fish that was approximately 120 meters long. Now that is a whale of a tortilla.

The massive tortilla was stuffed with 370 kilos of raya fish, 3,500 eggs, 2 kilos of peppers, 80 kilos of green onions, 120 kilos of red onions, and 4,500 limes. The 80 chefs who created it are the finest from the San Jose district of Chiclayo (more…)

A Peruvian chef, María José Jordán, took home first place in the S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 Competition of Latin America and the Caribbean on March 4th. The 24-year old is also known as Majo, a mash-up of María José. She participated in the competition along with fellow Peruvian Aaron Chlimper and a few other select chefs from Latin American and the Caribbean.

By winning the regional competition, Jordán secured a place in the world-wide S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 Competition. She beat out eight other chefs from Mexico, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. (more…)

On Wednesday Ollanta Humula, Peru’s President, officially opened the Gastronomic Festival “Los Sabores y Colores del Perú” (Peru’s Flavors and Colors) in Beijing. Traditional Peruvian dishes and desserts were served.

At the event, Humula said: “The gastronomy is another of Peru’s strengths. Food unifies us. It is one of mankind’s most ancient elements for socializing. Peru provides the best of his cuisine to share with the whole world.”

The trip was also organized to strengthening bonds between Peru and China. (more…)

National Geographic recently published an article of the 10 best specialties of Peruvian cuisine, which is known to be one of the worlds finest.

Included are meals which mainly consist of meat, for example cuy – baked or barbecued Andean guinea pig, which is served with head and legs – or anticuchos; grilled meat, mostly beef heart, served in restaurants or as street food. Many restaurants offer alpaca and the pollo a la brasa, meaning roasted chicken marinated with a smoky and salty dressing, which is often served with French fries. (more…)

Carlos Delgado, a Peruvian chef, runs a restaurant in Washington, called Ocopa. He has taken the traditional Peruvian flavors to the capital of the United States. Delgado was born in Callao, Peru but moved to the United States when he was eleven. He started working in kitchens as a teenager. Now he is 24 and he is the chef of his own restaurant. He serves traditional Peruvian dishes like ceviche, canchita and pollo a la brasa with a modern twist to it.

The young chef remains humble despite his success. The restaurant’s website is worth a visit: http://www.ocopa.kitchen (more…)

National Geographic Travel Magazine says Lima is the world’s 16th smartest city. The capital of Peru outsmarts cities such as Amsterdam, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Kigali, Mexico city, Seoul, Taipei and Vancouver. According to National Geographic Lima is the World’s Most Edible Burg because of its rich gastronomy influenced by a wide variety of other ethnic cuisines.

José Andrés, chef and restaurateur, says on the magazine’s website: “As a chef, I’ve always been fascinated to see not only how food can be a bridge between cultures but also its connection with history and politics”. (more…)

Mistura Food Festival in Lima, Peru, became since its first edition in 2008 Latin America’s largest gastronomic fair.

The fair planning committee expects that more than 30 000 foreigners will visit Peru in September to attend the fair this year.

According to the head of Mistura’s Tourism Committee, Manuel del Solar, the majority of these visitors from abroad will attend for professional reasons, such as professional chefs, food journalists, researchers and culinary students. Also representatives from various international companies have confirmed their visit.
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Peru is known for its delicious and incomparable cuisine. When travelling around the country, tourists are in for a treat as they try the typical dishes. However, not everyone is up for travelling and others are not able to. So, this coming Sunday, June 8, 2014, one of the best opportunities for people from the United States to taste Peruvian food will take place. The gastronomic festival, Taste of Peru, will be held at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington D.C. from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

This event is an annual celebration of the Peruvian chefs all around the United States (more…)

The traditional Peruvian cuisine will apply to become an Intagible Cultural Heritage in 2015 as it merits its place on the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO)’s landmark list.

“What we aim for 2015 is to prepare all needed documentation to request UNESCO to include the Peruvian gastronomy in the list,” said Luis Castillo Butters. Peru’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Cultural Industries.

He has already formally discussed the proposal to apply the World Heritage  with the Society of Gastronomy (Apega). According to the Peruvian goverment (more…)

One of the most revered dishes of Peru is its ceviche, a dish made out of raw fish, citrus juices, ají, chili peppers, and onions. Recently the ceviche of the famous restaurant, Chez Wong, in Lima was declared the tastiest dish in the world by the Chowzter Fast Feasts awards in London. The nominations of these great dishes are made by local food experts and bloggers and were tested by a tasting team.

Chowzter each year searches for the finest tasting dishes in the world and Chez Wong´s Ceviche won for 2014. This outstanding, gourmet restaurant is owned by the Peruvian chef Javier Wong (more…)

Peru is well-known all around the world for its delicious foods. Every year the country´s culinary delicacies attract tourists and also help them to stay even longer. One of Peru´s major foods is Quinoa, which has recently become popular in various nations due to its nutritional value. Especially in the United States, as it is reported that about 68 million pounds of quinoa were imported in this one nation alone. Many are using it as a supplement for gluten products as numerous people in the U.S. are now unable to eat gluten.
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