Tierra Unica is a destination blogsite focusing on world travel, entertainment, cuisine, news, popular culture, sports, business, technology, humor, and events from around the world with an emphasis on the USA and South America (Peru, Argentina, Brazil, etc).
This is the launch video for Festival de Comida Peruana 2010 (Festival of Peruvian Food) in San Francisco at the Civic Center Plaza July 18, 2010.
Description
Demarty Productions Presents:
"The Peruvian Food Festival 2010"
Sunday
July 18th, 2010
@The Civic Center Plaza (across the st from
City Hall SF)
This highly anticipated event brings the best
Peruvian cuisine in nothern california with over 40 different dishes
& over15 of your different favorite restaurants participating. Enjoy
traditional music, dances, beer, Pisco, culture, food & an
awesome social gathering.
Entertainment will be provided by some
of Peru's best: "Orquesta Salsera" "La Clave" "Dianett
Paucar" "EL Blanco De La Cumbia" "Charlie Perez" "Estampas
Peruana De Vladimir Vucanovich"
Restaurants & Chef's
Participating: -Inca's Grill -Miraflores -Fresca -La Furia
Chalaca -Las Americas -El Toro Loco -El Hueco -Un Toque De
Jasslie -Chola's -Tocumbo Ice Cream -Kimberly Comida Andina -Jess's
Place -Isabella's -Dona Lucha -Puro Peru -Comida Vanesita -El
Perol -Trujillanito De Pura Cepa
A set of pictures and images from the Peruvian documentary "Ollas y Sueños" (Cooking Up Dreams) released in August, 2009 about the 500 years of fusion (mixture) cuisine in Peru.
Peru is the birthplace of world fusion cuisine and the cultural mixture and miscegenation (marriage) of ancient native cuisines with that of several different types of cuisines of four continents.
Ask.com wrote - "Thanks to pre-Inca
and Inca heritage and to Spanish, Basque, African,
Sino-Cantonese, Japanese and finally Italian, French and British
immigration
(mainly throughout the 19th century), Peruvian Cuisine combines the
flavors of
four continents. With the eclectic variety of traditional dishes, the
Peruvian
culinary arts are in constant evolution, and impossible to list in their
entirety. Suffice it to mention that along the Peruvian coast alone
there are
more than two thousand different types of soups, and that there are more
than
250 traditional desserts.
The great variety in Peruvian Cuisine stems from three major influences:
Peru's unique
geography,
84 of the 104 possible life zones on Earth according to Holdridge
Peru's openness and
blending of distinct races and cultures
The incorporation of
ancient cuisine into modern Peruvian Cuisine"
Peru - A Food obsess Nation
Peruvian Cuisine is one of the main driving forces of Peru’s rapid economic development in the last 15 years, and
growing national pride. Similar to France, Spain, Italy, and Japan, cuisine in Peru, and the people
that make it, are respected at all levels of society. It is the most
revealing aspect of Peruvian society, more so than music, art, or futbol (soccer). Guarango's De Ollas y Sueños, (Cooking Up
Dreams), is a beautiful filmed released last year which opened to much domestic and international acclaim. The film follows
Peruvian Cuisine around Peru and around the world.
Peru is
considered one of the most important center for the genetic diversity of the world's crops:
Choclo (corn), 35 varieties
Tomatoes,
15 species
Potatoes, Peru is the birthplace of the potato. The Ancient Peruvians (pre-Inca
civilizations) cultivated and domesticated the potato almost 10,000
years ago. Of the roughly 4,500 varieties of potatoeson Earth, 3,000
are indigenous to Peru.
Sweet Potatoes, 150 varieties
Peanuts are native to Peru and were taken by Spanish and Portuguese merchants
to Africa.
Cooking Up Dreams (Trailer) - Ollas y Sueños: This excellent documentary about the Peruvian Cuisine movement and the hottest food trend world-wide over the last few years was released last Fall in Lima, Peru. It will premierefor the first time in the U.S. this weekend in New
York, Chicago, Texas and Toronto. This movie is about the 500 years of cultural mixture or miscegenation (not fusion) of Peru with respect to it's rich gastronomical history, culture, migration, and it's various foods and cuisines within the country and abroad.
San Francisco Chronicle's SF Gatequote - "NO CON-FUSION HERE: "The very first place there was
fusion cuisine was Peru." -- Chef Patricio Gaston Herrera, relating
how New World and Old World cuisines melded nearly 500 years ago with
arrival of "invaders" -- the Spanish."
The premiere will take place on
Saturday April 17, 2010 at the Havana Film Festival in Manhattan, New York,
an important showcase for Latin American cinema. I've seen this
excellent film about Peru & Peruvian Cuisine. It is a must see!!!!
Details of Cooking Up Dreams (Trailer) - Ollas y Sueños:
Feature Documentary: "Cooking Up Dreams"
Original title: De Ollas y Sueños
Directed by: Ernesto Cabellos
Produced by: Televisión América Latina (TAL) and Guarango Association
Format: HDV 1080i60
Release date: August 2009 (Lima, Peru)
Images of Peruvian Cuisine and the international & domestic chefs in the documentary:
"Mesa de Chefs" (The Chefs Table)
Picture of Teresa Izquierdo (Afro-Criollo Peruvian Cuisine), Gaston Acurio (Haute-Peruvian Cuisine), and Hector Solis (traditional Criollo Peruvian Cuisine).
Bernardo Roca Rey - restaurateur, local newspaper owner, and one of the founders of the "Novo Andino" (New Andean) cuisine movement in Peru and abroad dating back to the early-1980s.
Peru is the birthplace of the potato. The Ancient Peruvians (pre-Inca civilizations) cultivated and domesticated the potato almost 10,000 years ago. Of the roughly 4,500 varieties of potatoeson Earth, 3,000 are indigenous to Peru.
Ernesto Cabello - Peruvian film director of Ollays y Sueños (Cooking Up Dreams)
Johnny Schuler - Pisco (Peruvian Brandy) ambassador, President of the Peruvian Pisco Association, TV personality, Pisco entrepreneur, and big investor of the U.S. Pisco market.
In Peru, there are hundreds of variety of "Choclo" (Peruvian corn).
The world famous "Choclo Blanco Gigante de Cuzco" (giant Peruvian white corn of Cusco). The delicious "Choclo Cusco" is the biggest corn in the world, they grow abundantly around the Valley of the Incas.
Top celebrity chefs leading the Peruvian Cuisine world conquest movement - Peru's Toshiro Konishi (Peruvian-Japanese Mixed Cuisine called "Nikkei"), Spain's Juan Mari Arzak (haute Spanish-Basque Cuisine), and Peru's Gaston Acurio.
Peru's Gaston Acurio- The #1 celebrity chef in all Latin America, owner of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, Astrid y Gaston, & Tanta restaurant brand, TV personality, and leader of the Peruvian Cuisine movement world-wide.
Ferran Adria(haute Spanish Molecular Cuisine) - The #1 celebrity chef in the world, owner of Bulli (highest Michelin rated restaurant in the world), and now follower of Peru's Gaston Acurioand Pedro Miguel Schiaffino.
Pedro Miguel Schiaffino - Leader of Peru's haute Amazonian Cuisine movement, chef professor, and owner of Malabar in San Isidro, Peru (Food & Wine Magazine's 4th best bar in the world).
Except of my rough Castillian Spanish to English translation:
"In the first case, La Mar Cebicheria Peruana San Francisco, United States; which has a two-star rating to recognize the comfort and service that it caters to their
clients. Pisco cocktails and adventurous Peruvian Cebiches are its specialty of this Peruvian
Cebicheria which overlooks the bay where the sea breeze is felt in the yard...."
To put this in prospective, here in San Francisco not even top rated and very expensive restaurants like Michael Mina or Gary Danko have the
same rating as La Mar SF has from Michelin! A Michelin Restaurant Rating is the most
prestigious designation an eating establishment can get in the world.
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana San Francisco is not only the top rated Peruvian restaurant, but it is now officially the #1 rated Latin American restaurant in the entire United States with 2-star Michelin rating!!! And it has been open for only 17 months.
According to the Restaurant Magazine in London, England, the highest rated restaurant in all Latin America is another restaurant owned by famed Peruvian chef and restaurateur Gaston Acurio - Astrid y Gaston. It was rated by Restaurant Magazine as one of the 40 top restaurants in the world. D.O.M. in Brazil is the only other restaurant in Latin America in the top 100.
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana San Francisco at night in the patio.
The out of this world Peruvian Cebiches at La Mar SF (clockwise starting at the upper right): Nikei, Clásico, Crudo, Chifa
Valentine's Day Dinner - If you are looking for a fantastic place to have Valentine's Day dinner tomorrow night Sunday, Feb 14, 2009; then here is a treat for you! The good folks at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana in San Franciscohas a "Special Menu" of Peruvian Haute Cuisine for tomorrow night's festivities. It is a 4-course dinner which includes one Peruvian Pisco mixed drink for only $75.00 per person.
Here is an excerpt of the Special Menu:
1st Course (choice) Cebiche Nikei - Ahi Tuna, red onion, Japanese cucumber and avocado in tamarind leche de tigre
Cebiche Crudo - Prawn, sea urchin and scallops in sea urchin leche de tigre
Cebiche Clasico - California Halibut in a classic leche de tigre, red onions, habanero, Peruvian corn and yam
2nd Course (choice) Causa Duo - Causa Limeña with dungeness crab, avocado purée, quail egg, with basil cilantro oil & Causa Casera with purple potato causa, artichokes, asparagus, avocado and tomato confit
Oysters Duo - A la Chalaca and with Rocoto Caviar
Empanada de Choclo - Stuffed with Peruvian corn choclo, butter, and aji amarillo
Anticuchos de Hongos - Grilled big trumpets with cilantro chimichurri and anticuhera sauce
Here is award winning Peruvian Cebiche chef Diego Oka at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana in Mexico City, Mexico demonstrating how to make a Peruvian Causa Pacifico.
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana in San Francisco was classified last week by the prestigious Michelin Rating System in Paris, France. It is not only the highest rated Peruvian restaurant but also the highest rated Latin American restaurant in the entire United States!!!
Here is part 2 in Castelliano (Castillian Spanish) of this impressive video called "El Pisco Patrimonio Cultural Del Peru - Parte 2" (Peru's Pisco Cultural Heritage).
There is a short interview with restaurateur, Peruvian media mogul, publisher, hotelier, and #1 Latin American celebrity chef Gaston Acurio in Lima, Peru. Gaston is the owner of the five star Astrid y Gaston, La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, Tanta, and other top Peruvian brand restaurants. He currently owns 40+ upscale Peruvian restaurants around the world. He also owns the Mistura Peruvian Cuisine Expo, the largest cuisine expo in all Latin America.
Also in the video is Pedro Schiaffino, one of Peru's top young chefs and the owner ofMalabar in San Isidro, Peru. According to this month's Food & Wine Magazine here in the United States, Malabar is the 4th best lounge & bar in the world!
According to Food & Wine Magazine - "the Peruvian Pisco Sour is the most elegant of Latin American drinks. Far superior and more refined than the Cuban Mojito, the Brazilian Caipirinha, and the Californian Margarita. Pisco Sour made with Pisco Peruano and the Limon Peruano, the best lime in the world, has no rival."
The one and only "Coca Sour Peruano" - the mind boggling & sheer ecstasy inducing drink from the ancient Incas the Peruvian Coca Sour made of coca leaves (the raw leaves that is used to make cocaine)!!! This is pure coca leaves not extract or coca infused Pisco.
Picture of the truly unique "Coca Pisco Peruano" at an upscale restaurant in Miraflores, Peru. This drink is illegal in the Unites States and in most countries around the world. But in San Francisco I know a top Peruvian restaurant that serves a Coca infused Pisco Sour! It is much diluted, so it not the same thing. But it is the closes thing you can get to being in Peru.
Here is a cool video of Gaston's La Mar Cebicheria Peruana's chef Rodolfo Reyes on ABC News last week preparing a delicious Heirloom Tomato Salad with Peruvian Quinoa Tabouli dressed in Peruvian Rocoto-Huacatay Vinaigrette!
Bay view of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana on Pier 1- 1/2 at the Embarcadero, San Francisco.
In January 2009, an extensive article was published on the LA Times about Peruvian Celebrity Chef Gaston, the #1 celebrity chef in all of Latin America. The article is about the global emergence of Peruvian Cuisine and its current status as the international "IT" cuisine, Gaston himself, and the arrival of one of Gaston's key restaurant brands in the U.S., La Mar Cebicheria Peruana in San Francisco in Sept 2008.
(La Mar SF will celebrate their 1st Anniversary in San Francisco on Sept 29, 2009 with a "special menu" that day event for its clients. More details later.)
A couple excerpts from the La Times interview with Gaston:
".....So he has taken cues from Japanese and Mexican restaurateurs, hoping to
emulate the successes of the former and avoid some of the pitfalls of
the latter. Nobu Matsuhisa, the Japanese chef whose seafood restaurants
(influenced by three years spent cooking in Peru) now span four
continents, is also an inspiration.
"We don't want to sell cheap food, like the Mexicans have done with
tacos all over the place," Acurio said. "The Japanese started with a
very fine product -- sushi -- and that's what we have with ceviche. We
have to do the best restaurants we can, in the best cities, in the best
avenues to compete with the best restaurants in the world."
Over the last few years, numerous favorable articles across the U.S. and aboard have been written about Peru, Peruvian Cuisine, and Chef Gaston in industry specific publications (travel, food, culture, history, Amazon River, etc.). But last week, Time Magazine wrote this eye popping article about Peru & Peruvian Cuisine - Peru's Plan For Global (Foodie) Conquest!
Video Interview With Gaston
In December 2006, Gaston did a revealing interview with a Spanish reporter (Spain) for a TV program in Lima, Peru called La Ventana Indiscreta (The Indiscreet Window). The interview reveals his thoughts about society - poverty, injustice, discrimination, courage, and success in Peru and aboard. And the acceptance of Peruvian Cuisine internationally.
Even if you can't understand Castellano (Castillian Spanish), you can see from the video below that former lawyer Gaston is very confident, motivated, smart, capable, eloquent, educated, and above all extremely charismatic!!! All the qualities of a world class WINNER.....
As you can hear from the interview, Gaston is very confident but he is level headed with his global success. That is his charm - he is humble!
This Thursday Sept 24, 2009 in Lima, Peru is the start of the largest cuisine festival in Latin America and one of the top 2 or 3 in the world - Mistura 2009 Peruvian Cuisine Festival & Expo. I will bring you all the cool info for you international cuisine foodies as I get it.
Over the last couple years, I've developed a friendship with Gaston and his excellent staff at La Mar Lima, Peru & La Mar San Francisco. Gaston calls me his friend.....:-)
I wish him much success in this weeks Mistura 2009 Peruvian Cuisine Festival, and opening new upscale "Astrid y Gastons", "La Mar Cebicheria Peruanas" and his other Peruvian Cuisine restaurant brands in Manhattan - New York City, Miami, London, Barcelona, and Dubai in late 2009 and 2010!
PS. I'll have more info about the La Mar San Francisco 1st Anniversary Special Menu/Event later this week.
A few pictures of Peruvian superstar celebrity chef Gaston Acurio:
As you international cuisine lovers know, Peruvian Cuisine is currently the "IT" food all over the world.
Here is a preview of the 1st Annual Festival Of Peruvian Cuisine in San Francisco today Sunday, July 26, 2009, at Roccapulco Supper Club.
(Castellano/Espanol: Preview - Primer Festival Annual De Comida Peruana En San Francisco Hoy)
This is an event sponsored by over 10 of the top Peruvian restaurants in San Francisco and national Spanish language television network Telemundo.
It is a local glimpse and preview of the huge "Peru Mucho Gusto - Feria Internacional Gastronomica De La Cocina Peruana" in Lima, Peru in Sept, 2009. "Peru Mucho Gusto" is the largest international cuisine/food festival in Latin America and one of top 3 in the world today.
Here is San Francisco's Peruvian Spanish language radio personalityCarlos Demarty, El Show de Pepe, and South American TV beauty Carolina describing (in Spanish) today's Peruvian Cuisine Festival & Party at Roccapulco Supper Club:
El Primer Festival de la Comida Peruana, Entrada Gratis!!
10 - Restaurantes bajo un techo, Comida, Diversion en un ambiente familiar.
Domingo Julio 26 de 12pm - 6pm,
>> Roccapulco Supper Club 3140 Mission Street San Francisco, Ca. USA 94110
