How a unique recipe took Peru to the top table of global cuisine
A wealth of ingredients and cultures made food a source of pride and ‘agent of change’ Peruvian chef and restaurateur Virgilio Martínez has led the country to the top table of global cuisine, with his unique recipe featuring over 4,000 varieties of potato and 50 types of maize. The country's top restaurant, Central, topped the 2023 list of “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’, with a menu celebrating the unique biodiversity of the country’'s indigenous ingredients. Each of the 14 plates on the $370 tasting menu “represents an ecosystem, an altitude” and a dish made with several varieties of maize, kiwicha, and leaves of camote. This year, Lima was named the home of the world's best restaurant and took four spots in the top 50 ranking. Gastón Acurio, the country's superstar chef and pioneer of gastronomy, led the culinary boom by fostering a movement that positions food as an instrument for national pride.
Published : 2 years ago by Andres Schipani in Science
In a high volcanic corner of south-east Peru, the land is so barren that Nasa used it to test whether potatoes could be grown on Mars. But the vast desert of red dirt soon gives way to a lush river valley, where farmers live off an abundance of veget... [5802 symbols]
Topics: Peru