Koreans think of Youth Over Flowers in Peru (TV program for travelling) and Machu Picchu when they hear Peru, but, surprisngly, the natioinal heritage Peruvians take pride in the most is their food culture followed by the Inca Civilization. The national brand most favored by the people in Peru is Mistura (the best food festival in South America). Also, two restaurants (Central and Maido) in Peru ranked 5^th and 8^th on The World's Best Restaurant Top10 2017, which was the second highest number after Spain (3). Unfortunately, no Korean restaurant was included in the list…In addition, Peru was selected as the world's best destination for delicacies by World Travel Awards, which are referred to as the Oscars of the travel industry, over France, Spain and Japan for 6 consecutive years from 2012 to 2017. You can tell how the world views Peruvian cousine.

 First, the diversity of ingredients. Peru embraces the Andes highlands, Amazon, coast and dry desert area. In fact, out of 150 different regional climates in the world, Peru hast 120. Different climates and altitudes create varied vegetations, which supplies diverse and fresh ingredients. Second, cultural diversity. Peru was conquered by Spain, and its previous Inca culture was integrated with Spanish food culture. Due to the Islamic influences on Spain, Peru naturally absorbed Islamic food culture (onion, spicy sauce and dessert) as well. Furthermore, with the immigration of Chinese and Japanese in the 19^th century, even Asian food was added to Peruvian cuisine. The different foods of different cultures were boldly combined together rather than existing independently, and it developed the foods in Peru. Lastly, Mistura, the biggest delicacy festival in South America. Koreans would think of Singapore or Hong Kong for food festivals, but Mitura is undoubtedly the best food festival in South America. As of 2016, 70,000 people visited the festival.

 Potato, widely influencing the foods around the world, is one of the world's 4 major crops with rice, wheat and corn. Peru is the birthplace of potato. It was first cultivated in the south of Peru around 7,000 years ago as a source of food for Incans in the Andes Mountains. As Spain conquered Peru, potatoes were delivered to Europe and became the food that resolved famine during the Middle Ages. I believe Amorepacific family would remember how Matt Damon was farming potatoes in Martian, the movie, for his survival. In fact, potatoes were the first crop ever cultivated in space. In Peru, the birthplace of potatoes, there are around 4,000 varieties of potatoes.

 Another essential food in the world in addition to potato is tomato, and tomato is also originally from Peru. Many would think that tomato, used often for pasta and pizza, comes from somewhere in Europe, but its birthplace is the north of Peru. Same as potatoes, tomatoes reached Europe from Peru through Mexico under the Spanish rule.

 They say, "Don't talk about Peru before you try Ceviche." Ceviche is a cold 'seafood salad' with roughly chopped firm white fish meat, shrimp, squid or sea shell caught from the Pacific Ocean marinated in sour lemon or lime juice and finely diced vegetables on top. It is similar to Mulhoe (Cold Raw Fish Soup) in Korea, but Ceviche uses vinegar and lime juice instead of red chili-pepper paste. Different restaurants offer different flavors. You will like Ceviche from the restaurants well known to tourists, but the ones frequented by locals have strong vinegar and lime flavor, so you can choose depending on your preference.

 Lomo Saltado, as popular as Ceviche, is a fusion dish that mixes the Chinese frypan and Peru's traditional ingredients. To make juicy strips with soy sauce-marinated beef (or alpaca), onion, tomatoes, aji chili and other spices, Peruvians cook beef first and stir fry it until tomatoes and onion make firm and juicy strips. Same as Ceviche, Lomo Saltado is one of the most popular dishes and guaranteed to offer a decent taste at any restaurant.

 Having lived in Peru for over one month on local foods, I have some tips for you.

① Sin Sal por favor (No salt please!) - I am a salt mania. I love salty foods and different kinds of saltiness. I love salt so much that I have at least 20 different types of salt at home. But, in Peru, the level of saltiness in foods is a whole different level. Sometimes I wonder if they are competing over who makes foods saltier. Whatever you order, remember to say, 'Sin Sal por favor' in Peru.

② I use TripAdvisor (most preferred travel app by non-Koreans) to look for restaurants and Google Map for scores and reviews of the restaurants around my accommodation or destination. Of course, it would be a good idea to make some local friends and ask for recommendation.

③ When in Peru, try Michelin – Michelin stars! If you are a foodie, you would love to try a Michelin-starred restaurant but hesitate because of the high price. When I first told people that I was heading to Lima, people said I should definitely try Astrid y Gaston. I thought that the Michelin 3-star restaurant would be too expensive for me as I was to be dispatched alone, but they told me the price of the restaurants in Lima would be decent although it would not be cheap. Central and Astrid y Gaston, Michelin 3-star restaurants, charge $100~130 per person for tasting menus ($315 for New York's Madison Park and $350 for El Celler de Can Roca in Spain). The main dishes of other fine restaurants would be around 100 Soles (35,000 Korean won). However, you have to make a reservation at least 2 months in advance. For example, Central is fully booked until August as of June 10.

 I introduced Lima's food culture in this Hyecho Column. The only phrase in English that I memorized after hearing only once is, "You are what you eat!" Koreans say, "Everything we do is to eat and live!" Never skip your meal and never eat just for the sake of eating. Cherish every meal you eat! Hasta Luego~