Global Cuisines and Cultures: Peru Trip

Our first day in Lima began with an early morning lecture from Professor Rosario Olivas Weston, from the University of San Martin de Porres, just a few minutes away. She gave us an informative talk on the diversity and history of Peruvian cuisine, and I thought it was a great way to get all of the students excited about the days to come.

**Professor Rosario Olivas Weston led us through a lecture on the history of Peruvian gastronomy.The information given to us in the lecture would be put to good use sooner than we thought**

Our welcoming lunch was at La Huaca Pucllana, a restaurant overlooks the Pucllana archeological site, created by a pre-Incan civilization in the 5th century. We were served multiple courses of amazing food which highlighted the diversity of Peruvian cuisine, all in an open-air dining room looking out at the incredible remains of the ancient civilization. For many of us, this was our first introduction to uniquely Peruvian foods, which included cuy, alpaca, and even cherimoya, all presented in elegant and beautiful dishes.

**Cuy is a traditional Peruvian dish of guinea pig. This upscale version was deep fried and served with plantains**

**Cherimoya, or custard apple, is a deliciously sweet fruit. Here it was prepared with hazelnut and encased in a white chocolate shell**

CIA Global Cuisines — **La Hauca Pucllana is located near the remains of an ancient pre-Incan civilization**

This is us! After lunch, we had the opportunity to relax at the hotel for an hour or two. We took this opportunity to check out the surrounding neighborhood of Miraflores.

There was a park just a few blocks from the hotel that provided a safe spot for cats to roam, and you could even adopt them if you wanted to. Dinner was at La Mar, and this restaurant specializes in another traditional Peruvian dish ceviche. We were led through a demo on how to make this classic dish, and then made our own.We concluded the night with plenty of food and drink. Our first day in Peru was off to a great start!

By Dan Salisbury

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Dan Salisbury

Dan Salisbury is a current BPS student in Applied Food Studies. He has been washing dishes and cooking in professional kitchens since he was fifteen, and graduated from the Culinary Arts AOS Program in April 2016. Dan grew up just south of Boston, MA, and lives with his family in Pittsburgh, PA when off from school.An avid fan of Cormac McCarthy, staging around in restaurants, and eating a lot, he is always working on various projects and stories to integrate his serious love of food and writing.