Peru is most famous for Machu Picchu but slowly the pride of all Peruvians is being recognized -- their food.
Slowly, Peruvian food is becoming popular in the United States with a new restaurant having opened this past summer in Los Angeles, Picca, by Food & Wine's Best New Chef of 2011, Ricardo Zarate. And, last month by Peru's own Gaston Acurio in New York, La Mar is his newest venture in addition to his 34 restaurants in Latin America and Spain.
It's no surprise to gastronomes like award-winning chef and author Rozanne Gold, that Frommer's picked Peru as their Top Food & Drink Destination of 2012. Lima is now drawing a new flock of visitors who travel all the way to Peru just to eat, Frommer's reports:
Lima's cultural miscegenation -- a rich stew of Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese -- is reflected in its culinary fusion. Limeño cuisine encompasses spicy creole dishes, Nikkei (2nd-generation Japanese), and chifa (a Peruvian twist on Chinese). The long Pacific coast is notable less for its beaches than the endless bounty of fresh seafood that makes it to markets and restaurant tables.
Don't be surprised when you hear 'Peruvian food' that you also hear the name 'Gaston Acurio', as he is also the Ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. Porfolio.com hailed Acurio as the next Superchef back in 2008, declaring him as the "most famous chef you've never heard of."
But now with a documentary premiering internationally, "MISTURA, The Power of Food," solely based on one of the biggest gastronomic festivals in Peru, MISTURA, starring Peru's Superchef, 'Gaston Acurio' is sure to become a household name very soon. If you have never tasted Peruvian food, the documentary will educate you on the variety of dishes Peru is famous for, as Frommer's recognized:
Lima's signature dish, ceviche, is a tangy plate of raw fish and shellfish marinated in lime juice and ajíes, or hot chile peppers. Limeños crowd lunch-only cevicherías or neighborhood holes-in-the-wall -- known locally as huariques -- like Canta Rana for their ceviche fix. Superstar chef Gastón Acurio, at La Mar, and other innovative chefs have created sleek, modern takes on tradition that are the city's gastro hotspots.
As Acurio states in the documentary, "If you want to live, feel, laugh, dance, cry, eat, sang, kiss, love, and never forget, that's MISTURA." The film has already won Best Short Foreign Documentary at the Hollywood International Family Film Festival and Best Short Documentary at the NYLA International Film Festival this year.
"A party where we all reunite around our pots and fires to celebrate our differences, and join together as tribute to history, tradition, creativity, culture and biodiversity," states Acurio on the MISTURA, the largest gastronomic fair in Latin America.