Peruvians are very proud and extremely passionate about their food and cooking or writing about it is one way to share that passion with others. But more and more, I am noticing that Peruvian cuisine is gaining world wide notoriety, and that of course makes me very happy. These recent news items show that 2011 is starting with a bang for Peruvian cuisine around the world.
At the recent international congress of gastronomy, Madrid Fusion 2011, Peruvian cuisine was all the rage in Madrid. It was the first time that the lunch menu featured Peruvian food instead of Spanish cuisine and Peru’s Gaston Acurio was named one of the 20 most influential chefs in the world. That recognition put him in the company of The French Laundry’s Thomas Keller and El Bulli’s Ferran Adria who stated that “the future of gastronomy is cooking in Peru.”
The Organization of American States awarded Peruvian cuisine with the first Cultural Heritage of the Americas prize in recognition of the cuisine’s cultural value around the world. But Peru is seeking even wider recognition as the ministry of culture is submitting a bid to the UNESCO to declare Peruvian cuisine an item of World Heritage. Included in the bid is the film “De Ollas y Sueños,” the first Peruvian documentary about Peruvian cuisine.
Food and Wine magazine listed Lima, Peru, as one of the top 3 food cities to watch, but if you live in San Francisco you don’t have to travel far to experience Peruvian cuisine. We are very fortunate that the Bay Area is home to several Peruvian restaurants and I am looking forward to visiting many of them — stay tuned for upcoming posts on the exciting Peruvian food scene in SF.