Veronique Durroux at El Centro Internacional de la Papa, the International Potato Center, was the first one who enlightened us about the culinary scene in the capital city of Peru.

After Veronique, we learned more from Silvia at the Lima Gourmet Company. She raved about Gastón Acurio, the world renowned Peruvian Chef who changed Lima’s culinary scene and put Peru on the world gastronomy map.

Ferran Adria, the Spaniard super chef of El Bulli phenomena even pronounced, “the future of gastronomy is being cooked up in Peru.”

Armed with exciting reviews on Peruvian food, we were fortunate to taste the creations of three prominent chefs in this city of 8.5 million people.

Gastón Acurio and his wife Astrid Gutsche whom he met while they were both studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris opened Restaurant Astrid y Gastón 20 years ago in Miraflores District in Lima. It was such a success that Acurio Restaurantes now managed more than 40 restaurants with different specialties in Latin American countries and the United States.

 Image: Melissa de Leon

As it is almost impossible to get a seat at Astrid y Gastón, listed No. 18 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, we tried his other creation, Tanta Restaurant that serves affordable and classic Peruvian fare in Larcomar a shopping mall on a cliff, with scenic views of the Pacific Ocean in Lima.

Gastón’s strength is his innovation in creating fusion cuisines as Peruvian food is very much influenced by its geographical zone (coastal, Andes highlands and Amazon forests) and its immigrants’ influence (Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and African).

With a stunning view to the ocean, Tanta almost does not need any décor. The red umbrellas outside and the decorative wooden lamp shades inside make Tanta merges with the ocean.

It did not take long for our food to arrive while we are enjoying the sunset through the floor to ceiling window. The dishes, Lomo Saltado and Pollito, really illustrated fusion food with fresh ingredients that makes Peru gastronomically famous.

Lomo Saltado, Tanta’s most popular dish, is a stir-fried beef sirloin with onions, tomatoes, chili peppers, fried potatoes and steamed white rice. Pollito Nikkei is a juicy chicken leg fillet glazed with Terriyaki sauce, served on vegetables fried rice.

Both are warm, juicy, chewy and inconceivably delicious. The way rice is cooked is to our taste including the fluffy steam rice the non-sticky fried rice.

Pedro Miguel Schiaffino is famous as Peru’s Jungle Chefs. His flagship Malabar Restaurant is listed as No. 11 in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Chef Schiaffino, Silvia said, cleverly found a niche not covered by Gastón Acurio. He specifically spent years studying the Amazon, sourced ingredients from the jungle and creatively prepared cuisines his restaurants: Malabar, Amaz and on board cruise ships: Aqua Amazon and Aria Amazon.

 Image: Aqua Expeditions

At the venue of the UN Conference in Lima Schiaffino, who learned his crafts at the Culinary Institute of America and the Italian Culinary Institute, opened “Grill Amazónico” for 2 weeks only, offering ingredients from the Amazon: fish, vegetables, nuts, roots & fruits cooked on a firewood grill.

We tried some dishes from what he called the “green menu”

Entradas/Starters: Ensalada de raices amazonicas con callampas rojas y vinagreta de achiote/ Roasted Amazonian roots and wild mushroom salad with achiote vinaigrette.

Segundos/entrées: Camarones Tarapotinos a la parrilla/Grilled Tarapoto’s fresh water shrimp.

Postres/Dessert: Tarta de carambola/starfruit tart.

With a dish like the roasted Amazonian roots we felt like traipsing in the jungle, but Chef Schiaffino made the unique food colorful with sliced tomatoes and avocadoes, both have their origin in Peru.

We were most familiar with the taste of the fresh water shrimp although the turmeric rice was not as spicy as Indonesian food. The shrimp was sourced from Tarapoto, a tropical area, an hour flying time from Lima.

Internationally recognized Chef Marilú Madueño Martínez takes traditional Peruvian dishes and updates them into remarkable cuisines at Restaurant Huaca Pucllana.

The restaurant, located in 1500-year-old Pre-Inca ruins is a win-win example of public-private partnership. Its owner was given a permit to operate on the site and part of the revenue is set aside for maintenance work of the historical structure.

Chef Marilú Madueño Martínez studied hotel and restaurant management in Lima, continued her education in the United States and then to Paris to train at Le Cordon Bleu.

Entering the Huaca Pucllana ground is like traveling back and forth in time. To the left is a massive structure of pre-Inca civilization, the center of culture and administration of the Lima Culture built 500 A.D. To the right is a modern restaurant housed in a structure that blends with its surrounding.

 Image: Huaca Pucllana 

The restaurant has an ethnic indoor facility with photos of the world famous who have visited the restaurant. The terrace has a spectacular view of a 23 meter high adobe pyramid in the 15 hectares archeological zone.

Silvia suggested a tasting menu based on our food preference and she did not disappoint us.

Conchitas a la Parmesana/Scallops with Parmesan cheese.

Causitas con tartare de salmón y palta, con salsa de habas/Causa salmon tartare with avocado sauce and beans.

Chicharrón de pollo marinado en Pisco con salsita al limón/Fried chicken marinated with Pisco and Lemon.

Chicharrón de Cuy con plátano frito/Fried Guinea Pig with plantain.

The Cuy made us hesitant for a while but native to the high Andes; Guinea Pigs have been the source of protein for thousands of years.

Although most dessert taste as sweet as one can imagine, the dessert tray at Huaca Pucllana is to die for. Ours consisted off Suspiro a la limeña/Peruvian Caramel Meringue Parfait, Lucuma moose & toasted quinoa, Turrón de doña pepa/Anis cookie bar with candy syrup and Arroz con Leche/Rice pudding.

All the three prominent chefs mentioned above were all educated abroad, returned to Peru, and inspired many more to appreciate the country’s enormous resources and presented exotic dishes with international twists. The experience made us determined to explore more aspects of Peruvian gastronomy and attest to the notion that Lima is indeed a haven for foodies.

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Images: Omar Niode Foundation, unless otherwise stated.