By Terry Philips

Ten years ago Peruvian cuisine was on the outskirts, mostly unheard of, although already pipped by some as the next Thai or Japanese – recognised as the ultimate in fusion cuisine, integrating a vast history of influences from Asia, Africa and Europe.

Today, the boom is in full swing; Mistura is Lima’s food festival so that Peruvians can celebrate both the indigenous products and the amazing dishes that they have, and the most recent one saw more than 400,000 visitors attend across 10 days – with international tourists and media seeing it more than ever. The Andean highlands are now a crucial part of the country’s cuisine, and as the culinary diversity continues to grow and is seen around the world we can give thanks to this part for many of the flavours and ingredients.

Incan and pre-Hispanic styles are retained much closer within the highlands as they continue to use indigenous vegetables as their primary ingredients along with alpaca, lllama and cuy (guinea pig) for most of their meals. Corn (choclo)has long been an integral part of Andean cuisine, used as a base for fermented drinks (chicha de jora) as well as a variety of dishes or simple yet delicious street food, choclo con queso, a whole head of corn on the cob served with a hunk of soft, white Andean cheese. Potatoes are one of Peru’s great legacies, with some 2000 varieties available, although only a few are commonly used but even among these few, there is an incredible variety of shapes, colours and flavours. (Despite what many believe, it is Chile and not Peru that is home to the most varieties of potato, along with the common corn that is grown and found within Central America.)

Cuy was often raised in households, although now is a more occasional delicacy, and was traditionally roasted between two hot stones. A very sweet and lean gamey meat, alpaca tends to be found on the menus of high end restaurants and it’s strange really because they were usually bred for their wool as opposed for their meat. There are some non-indigenous meat, and one of the most popular is pork which you will find in Cusco filling legendary dishes – the adobo cusceño and chicharron, respectively a thick broth of potatoes and pork marinated in chicha de jora and fried pork served with a fresh cilantro, chilli and lime based sauce.

The most popular traditional Andean meal is the pachamanca; to understand what this means, you need to know that the name came from two Quechua words which means earth (pacha) and pot (manca) which is all about vegetables and meats being cooked underground. What happens is that stones fill a pit that is dug before a fire that is built on top is heated for several hours. The meats and vegetables are seasoned and wrapped in banana leaves and placed in the pit, with hot stones above and below and finally sealed with a further layer of banana leaves and earth. This was traditionally a dish for celebrations, but recently has become more popular and common; these days many Limeñans head out of the city over the weekend to famed pachamanca restaurants in places like Ceneguilla and Chosica.

The highlands of Peru are well-known for offering some great cuisine for travellers, but there is so much more to see when you take Peru luxury travel. Get the most out of the country, its sights and its food by having a look at the best Peru luxury tours.