Huancaí cuisine could occupy a place of honor in Peruvian and even international gastronomy, if its promotion and professional training can be promoted, according to Larry Saavedra Cavero, chef of the prestigious Sport Hotel Hermitage in Andorra and founder of the Sanka project.
“We have a huge pantry and we have nothing to envy other kitchens in the country, because even other regions are supplied with ingredients from Junín”he expressed. Saavedra regretted that, despite its culinary richness, Wanka cuisine is not among the most recognized in Peru. “We are not even among the ten best cuisines in the country, but we should even be among the top three”held. In his opinion, the challenge is not in the ingredients, but in the lack of promotion and gastronomic education that allows the development of elite cuisine from Junín.
“The potato is our flagship input, in all its varieties”The chef noted, adding that the region produces other high-quality foods, such as corn, goose, mashua and quinoa, which makes Junín a natural powerhouse for haute cuisine. “Pachamanca is the pride of our land. Each Wanka dish has something in common, it is cooked with love, and that is the ingredient that can conquer the world”he concluded.
In his international experience, Acavero said that he found restaurants outside the country that offer dishes from the central mountains. “In Madrid, there is a restaurant where they prepare five flavors of pachamanca in the huanca style and I couldn’t contain my excitement. I don’t even know how they managed to bring the guinea pig and everything else”he commented.
