Post on 22-Jan-2018
The Expansion of Peruvian Gastronomy
A glance into the past of Peruvian culture shows us a history of violence. However,
since this violence started to decrease in 1992, the country has invested quite a bit of time
into developing all areas of its economy. Peru is using a relatively new concept called
branding in order to develop and improve several aspects of daily life. A country “brand” is
simply the concept of a country as a brand, as if it were a business or product. Peru has
taken the branding concept to the next level and created its own national campaign called la
Marca Perú (The Peruvian Brand).
Some of the aspects of the Peruvian culture being utilized include its music, art,
sports, gastronomy and tourism.Out of all of these, gastronomy is one of the most
centralized attributes of the Peruvian culture that is currently being further developed to
drive the Peruvian brand. What is gastronomy? Gastronomy is defined as the art of a good
food. That includes selecting the finest ingredients and using various techniques of
preparation and presentation to dishes that are an amazing experience for all of the senses.
Now, why do I believe that their gastronomy is the central attribute? I believe that it
is Peru’s soft power that will sweep the world off it its feet. Soft power, a concept
developed by Joseph Nye of Harvard University, is the ability to attract and co-opt rather
than coerce. Peruvian cuisine boasts several advantages that exist throughout the world in
not just food but in everything. Some examples of this are its ancientness and exoticism.
We gaze in wonderment of the past at antiques. The same goes with everything that is
exotic, not just foreign, but exotic. Exotic, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary,
means that something is strikingly, excitingly, or mysteriously different or unusual. I want
to emphasize here that exotic means that although it is different or unusual, it is exciting at
the same time - attractive foreignness. This exoticism that is ever so present in Peruvian
gastronomy works as a soft power that is beginning to entertain the palates of people all
over the world.
Although their gastronomy is still being developed and is being altered, the essence
of Peruvian cuisine,that started to be developed in 1527 when the Spaniards arrived to
conquer South America, remains. Since then, there have been several large migrations to
Peru that have left their mark on Peru’s gastronomy. 1529 marked the beginning of the
enslavement of people of African background in Peru. These slaves worked in the kitchens
of the Viceroy. When these Africans cooked for themselves, they started using the Peruvian
recipes with different ingredients because the royalty ate all of the select cuts of meats and
left the organs for the enslaved people. One of the main results of this small preview of
Peruvian-African fusion is the anticucho, grilled cow heart (originally beef loin) on
skewers, one of the many typical Peruvian dishes. Other influences include Chinese,
Japanese and Italian cuisines. The fusion created by all of these influences is what makes
the Peruvian gastronomy exotic and ancient at the same time. The essence of Peruvian
cuisine lies in its ancient and exotic fusion and it is the foundation of the current
development.
La Marca Perú is utilizing many experts, referred to as “ambassadors” of their
respective field, who attribute to the current development ofeach characteristic of the
Peruvian culture. For example, Gastón Acurio is a world renowned chef who studied in Le
Cordon Bleu in France. He is the president of APEGA, the “Peruvian Gastronomic
Society,” who works under la Marca Perú to encourage the growth of the Peruvian
gastronomy. In 2010, President Acurio and Michael Landel, the CEO of Sodexo, created a
campaign titled Perú: Passion for Food. Peruvian chefs create new recipes which they
present at various events throughout the world. One of those events took place just over a
month ago right here at Adrian College. Peruvian chef Aldo Cardini came to Ritchie
Marketplace on October 29th and presented some of his signature dishes including quinotto
which is like risotto, but prepared with quinoa and ají, two of many ingredients originating
in the Peruvian region due to its grand biodiversity. Chef Cardini is just one of many
Peruvian chefs that are ambassadors of their cuisine, including those not working for
campaigns such as la Marca Perú.
In 2006, there were only 200 Peruvian restaurants in the United States and two years
later there were an estimated 400 such restaurants. There are Peruvian restaurants
throughout the rest of the world as well. These are mostly small restaurants owned by
people who emigrated from Peru, they are not working for la Marca Perú, they are not
under contract with APEGA, they have probably never even met Gastón Acurio, yet they
are also ambassadors of the Peruvian gastronomy. These restaurants throughout the world
help with an important aspect of publicity – word of mouth.
The growing recognition of Peru can be shown by taking a look at the World Travel
Awards, the “Oscar of the travel industry.” Although it did not win any awards its first
year, Peru entered the stage by receiving various nominations in 2005 for being The Best
Tourist and Convention Agency of South America as well as for being the Best Destination
in South America. In 2009 Peru won its first award for having the Leading Agency in South
America. Due to its recent rise of popularity of its cuisine, Peru was not only nominated for
but won its first culinary award at the event that took place in India in 2012. Peru is now
recognized world-wide as the Best Culinary Destination of the World.
Peruvian gastronomy has various characteristics that drive its popularity. The
curiosity that is inspired by its exoticism mixed with its ancientness is a recipe of popularity
that has more to do with just Peruvian cuisine. The economic cycle of tourism-money-
investing created by Peruvian gastronomy, la Marca Perú, and the various other
ambassadors of the Peruvian cuisine (such as the small restaurant owners) is, I believe,
foreshadowing of something more profound than just food. It could be a preview of how
the world views Peru and its culture. It has already won the world over with its cuisine; will
it be expanded as wide as other popular world cuisines like Chinese and Italian? Soon we
will know. In the meantime, let’s eat!