Gastronomic tourism in Peru

Not only Lima is the gastronomic capital of the world: visiting Cusco also means living a culinary experience of height. In addition to the main restaurants in the city and the Sacred Valley, Palacio del Inka and Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection have designed their own delicious, fun and varied tour. On the other side of the country, on the coast, the Summer Sessions at Hotel Paracas, a Luxury Collection Resort create a space for gastronomy and entertainment at the foot of the sea.

The new Andean gastronomy
In a multicultural country that is also one of the most biodiverse in the world, cuisine is the ultimate representation of the cultural, ethnic and geographical richness that characterizes Peru. In recent decades, a new trend has given birth to a style of Andean cuisine that draws on Peruvian history and the Peruvian pantry, as well as incorporating contemporary, international and sophisticated techniques.

History of a flavor
Peruvian gastronomy is not a mere trend or a fashionable cuisine; it is the result of historical factors, cultural and religious expressions, the geographical conditions of the territory and its great variety of climates. Each region has its own heritage, which contemporary Peruvian gastronomy has been able to exploit in a creative and unique way.

In ancient Cusco, the Incas based the structural axis of their food on existing cultures, combining Andean, seafood and tropical cuisine. Later, during the almost three centuries of the Viceroyalty of Peru, many techniques and ingredients were introduced, such as olives, grapes, dairy products, beef, chicken, rice and the ceutí lemon, without which there would not be one of the most emblematic Peruvian dishes: cebiche.

In the 19th century, immigration further enriched and expanded Peruvian cuisine. The arrival of the Japanese and Italian colonies during the republican period meant two important milestones: the birth of the nikkéi and the establishment of traditions such as sangucherías, pulperías, panetones and ice cream. On the other hand, the Cantonese Chinese culíes that arrived during the second half of the century correspond to the beginnings of the so-called chifa, a Chinese and Peruvian fusion. At the same time, the French fashion invaded the flavors of certain cuisines of the country.

These are the antecedents for the birth of Novo-Andean cuisine in the 20th century. In the 1980s, the name of this gastronomic trend began to be heard, based on dishes and recipes from pre-Hispanic times, while combining products from the coast and the highlands with a more cosmopolitan and updated look.

The emergence of Novo-Andean cuisine has been one of the reasons why Peru’s gastronomy was proclaimed Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2007, and why since 2012 the country has always been distinguished in the World Travel Awards as a Top Culinary Destination worldwide.

Cusco: Culinary Destination

The Sacred Valley of the Incas extends along the Vilcanota-Urubamba River, which rises in the mountain range and in its descent is crossed by numerous other rivers that flow down through ravines and small valleys. It is not only a landscape of great natural beauty, but also a territory of extraordinary agricultural wealth.

Less than 40 kilometers from the city of Cusco, the Urubamba River valley is its main larder, since it is the source of the surprising variety of grains, tubers, vegetables, fruits and herbs that feed the cuisine of the Andean department.

The particular biodiversity, the mild climate and the richness of its soil inspire a culinary creativity that flourishes in the valley itself. Proof of this is the Hawa restaurant and Kiwi bar at Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa in Urubamba, and its gastronomy and mixology proposals with a special stamp.

The hotel’s gardens in the Sacred Valley allow for a handmade bread workshop in a traditional clay oven. Pisco sour making classes are also offered, as well as pisco and craft beer tasting.

“From the garden to the table” is an activity that invites you to participate in the collection of the best products from the organic garden and then prepare different dishes with the hotel’s chef. Likewise, the “Five Fires” experience brings together the best flavors of the Andes in five different types of cooking.

In this hotel in Urubamba, food and drink become a vital part of a unique experience, sheltered by the nature of a valley that remains sacred for many reasons.

High altitude cuisine

Rooted among its mountain ranges, like other places in the Peruvian highlands, Cusco is distinguished by its geographic and climatological variety, to which it has to thank for the ingredients that grow on its slopes and that have turned it into a wonderful source of culinary ingredients.

In any review on Andean gastronomy, and more specifically on the cuisine of Cusco, it is impossible not to start with the amazing variety of tubers, including potatoes, olluco, mashua, oca and more. Cusco produces more than 1,200 types of native potatoes out of the 3,200 varieties that grow in the country. Likewise, its giant white corn is grown and produced in the provinces of Calca and Urubamba.

As well as agriculture, livestock farming makes Andean cuisine even tastier: in addition to raising cattle, pigs, cattle and sheep, there is also the consumption of llama, alpaca and guinea pig meat. The Peruvian highlands are synonymous with variety. There are chupes, soups, kapchi and pucheros (stews) as a sample of a cuisine that goes back centuries, and that has always been rich in products of high nutritional value that have been combined and maintained.

Starting in the 1980s, novo-Andean cuisine emerged as a genre of Peruvian gastronomy that sought to rediscover native cuisine by taking up ingredients and styles that were little known and fusing them with traditions from other parts of the world. The result is new dishes and flavors that, nevertheless, are familiar and close to us.

Since then, products such as maca, quinoa or tarwi have been reclaimed as part of a new, ethnically diverse and certainly sophisticated approach. This is the path taken by some of the most interesting restaurants in Cusco, such as the Inti Raymi proposal of Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection Hotel. And it is that the possibilities of novo-Andean cuisine transcend the culinary art to become a true revolution of Peruvian identity.