Kapchi de hongos | Photo courtesy APEGA
Big news, fellow foodies!
Gaby and I (#TeamBocadoBolivia) are happy to announce that in just over a month we will be taking Bocado Bolivia across the border to experience one of the most important gastronomy fairs in Latin America: Mistura!
Last month, we launched our new gastronomy project in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (read about it here) and in addition to celebrating local food and talent, we’ve been planning food-filled adventures both nationally and internationally to share the best of gastronomy around the region.
We believe food is culture, and culture is food. Ask anybody to share with you their favorite thing about their home or a place they have traveled to, and food will undoubtedly be one of their first answers. Food plays such a critical part of our lives, and while eating is a basic necessity of life, we believe there is so much more to food than just nutrition!
We all have comfort foods, those special flavors and dishes that take us back to a particular place and give us a nostalgic feeling for a certain moment or period of time. For me, that’s Midwestern potatoes and gravy. For Gaby, it’s milanesa. Think Australia and their affection for Vegemite. Or North America’s obsession of peanut butter. Since food is a cultural identifier, it’s important to travel and engage with other other cultures through gastronomy.
And because gastronomy, travel, and culture are so connected, we are excited to cross borders and experience the capital of gastronomy and culture by traveling to Peru and getting to know Mistura!
What is Mistura?
Chef Paul Perea, Mistura 2016 | Photo courtesy APEGA
Mistura, meaning mixture, is one of the largest and iconic gastronomy fairs of Latin America, based in Lima, Peru. The event is hosted by APEGA (Society of Peruvian Gastronomy) and has grown to receive 400,000 visitors last year since their inauguration in 2008!
Each year the fair unites chefs, farmers, bakers, restaurants, culinary institutions, producers, food critics and photographers, and hungry foodies to share in Peruvian cuisine and spirit. This year, the fair is celebrating 10 years of tradition and identity with the central theme of healthy eating and how it links to the country’s biodiversity. From the mountains to sea, jungle to desert, their incredibly rich diet provided by the country’s varying landscape will be highlighted over the 10-day gathering.
This year the event is introducing a new pavilion showcasing local wine, cheese, ham, coffee and chocolate of Peru, and we can’t wait to get our hands on everything and take a big bite!
One of the most exciting things about this trip is that we will be traveling with two Peruvian chefs who live and teach in Santa Cruz at IGI. They have owned successful restaurants and catering businesses and are organizing this trip to share their native cuisine with current gastronomy students! We are grateful for the opportunity to learn right alongside aspiring chefs and to see how they absorb this food-fest.
In addition to the festival, we will have the opportunity to indulge in some of the best creations from Peru’s finest chefs. On day 1 we have reservations to take a tour of Peru through Chef Virgilio Martínez’s world-renowned restaurant Central (#1 Latin America, #5 World)! We’ll also be visiting Jonathon Day’s exquisite bakery El Pan de la Chola as well as Bolivia’s own María Paula Baldiviezo and her 3/4 Burger Bar.
Stay tuned for updates, we’ll be sharing more as we get closer to the event!
Eat well,
Jess & Gaby
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