throughout Peru, La Mar cebichería perua-na was created as an attempt to globalize
and preserve one of the best guarded
treasures of Peruvian cuisine, cebiche.
Peruvian cuisine is, after all, one of the
original fusion cuisines. Over the centuries,
the native kitchen has been subject to
a host of outside influences from the
Africans, Japanese, Spaniards and other
Europeans who conquered, immigrated
into, or were forcibly transported to Peru.
Cacao pod still on the tree
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be hot spots for the coming decade with a focus
on sustainability as consumers continue to search
for their own self-sustaining lifestyles. One of the
factors that makes this region so fruitful is that
within the country’s borders there are 28 of the
world’s 32 climates. This diversity is chiefly conditioned by the presence of the Andes Mountains
and the cold Humboldt current.
Additionally, the cuisine of Peru continues to grow
beyond its borders. It’s the new fusion food in
the United States, with Peruvian chefs the likes
of Lima native Pedro Miguel Schiaffino gaining
recognition from The James Beard Foundation,
and La Mar creator Gastón Acurio who has taken
his cuisine far beyond Peruvian borders to such
places as San Francisco, New York, Santiago and
Panama. New York’s La Mar opened in September
in the high-ceilinged former home of Tabla at 11
Madison Ave.
Inspired by the thousands of cebicherías found
Cacao and yacon photos courtesy of Navitas Naturals.
Lima beans on display at the market
Economic Growth
The president of Peru’s business
guild ADEX, Juan Varilias Velásquez,
points out the importance of Peru’s
positioning as a world food supplier.
He explains that Peru is the leading
exporter of asparagus and paprika,
and it is also No. 1 in production
and world sales of cochineal,
among others.
He reveals that the efforts of the
export sector, the opening of new
markets, the identification of new
niches and the realization of mega-events such as Expoalimentaria
will invigorate agricultural exports
(traditional and non-traditional)
Harvesting yacon
that are set to total $4.291 billion
this year, and $10 billion potentially
in 2016.
“In the last 10 years, agricultural
exports have grown 21 percent;
Peru managed to [increase] exports
from $1.122 billion of agricultural
products in 2004 to $2.5 billion in
2008. After the 2009 crisis, we
took a significant leap, to the point
that this year we will overcome the
$4 billion barrier,” he says.
Jaime Bertie Brignardello, vice
president of the ADEX Fishing and
Aquaculture Committee, adds that
Peru is the third-largest exporter
of frozen scallops, ranks seventh in
