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!