A Taste of Peru in Monterey

A Taste of Peru in Monterey

A Taste of Peru in Monterey

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of traveling to Monterey to prepare a Peruvian tasting menu for Team Peru at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The idea for this dinner was born several weeks ago when I first met several MIIS students at a non-profit in San Francisco. Our shared passion for Peruvian culture had us quickly bonding and plotting an event involving food and of course Pisco cocktails.

Since the dinner was in Monterey, I wanted to prepare most of the dishes on the spot so as to serve them warm. Fortunately, one of the students offered to host the event and graciously donated the use of their kitchen. The only things I had to do ahead of time was plan the menu, find a place to get local ingredients, and recruit a couple of student volunteers as sous-chefs. I did, however, bring a few bottles of Pisco.

My goal for the 4-course menu was to represent the different cultures that make up Peruvian cuisine — Inca, Spanish, African, Chinese, and Japanese. And each dish was paired with a Pisco cocktail:

Throughout the dinner, I enjoyed sharing stories about the dishes and their cultural significance, and the students were truly appreciative of the menu I prepared. By the end of the evening, I could hardly believe that I had been prepping, cooking, baking, sautéing, and mixing Pisco cocktails for over 6 hours. But I was very grateful for the opportunity to bring a little bit of Peru to Monterey for one night — let’s do it again.

A special thanks to the students who hosted and organized the event, to my student sous-chefs, and to the wonderful photographer who documented all the fun.