“Food, Glorious Food we’re anxious to try it. Three helpings a day our favorite diet…” This song is one that I sang endlessly as a child and the lyrics still hold very true for me to this day.

We all discuss the great cuisine Peru has to offer. Many of us have purchased various food guides, read reviews and I think a fair number of us can rattle off names of famous chefs and popular restaurants, but how adventurous are we when it comes to trying traditional or local cuisine?

I recently started a fish course at a cooking school in San Isidro and despite thinking of myself as a foodie (albeit an amateur one) I now see I am still a wimp when it comes to the wet, weird and wonderful creatures that the sea offers up. Having enjoyed Lima’s famous pescados, mariscos, cebiches, the more I felt it was time to start trying them out at home. I realized only a few weeks into my course that I am a complete novice when it comes to all things related to La Mar! 

So I am making a vow to go forth, experiment and step out of my comfort zone.

1. I will go to the fish market at 5 a.m. (one of these days) to purchase something fresh, come home and gut it without being squeamish. Then no doubt fall asleep after such an early start!
2.  Next time I eat out I will not order “Conchas a la Parmesana,” or Corvina, which I adore. I will order something that I have yet to sample in Peru.
3. I will learn how to castrate a wriggling crab without fear of being pinched or feeling sorry for the poor thing.
4. I shall be fearless like that great dame of cooking Julia Childs and I can only dream of becoming a domestic goddess such as Nigella Lawson. My version, however, will probably be of one who emits a faint briny aroma, has bags under her eyes from early morning classes as well as sorties to the fish market, pinched fingers from runaway crabs and she will not be wearing kitten heels whilst sipping a martini!
5. My daughters are my biggest fans and critics and some months ago they accused me of being in a “cooking rut”. This according to them meant they could tell the day of the week by the dish they were eating! For me that’s comfort food and the ease of planning the week around their activities. One even suggested I “exit the envelope” which I think means the same as “get out of the rut you are stuck in” or “think outside the box”.

So I challenge you too reader to get out and explore the gastronomic delights of Lima. Leave your culinary caution at home and go out and taste something new or cook something different.

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well”- Virginia Wolfe

Happy Dining