Peruvian Cuisine Rules among Zagat’s Hottest Restaurants in the World

Tanta Barcelona, one of Gastón Acurio’s restaurants, was named by Zagat one of the “10 Hottest Restaurants in the world”.

Cuzco Eats congratulates Mr. Acurio on his success which adds to the international recognition of his abilities as celebrity chef and restauranteur.

Zagat is an international phenomenon which in 1979 began ranking restaurants based on surveys. Since then it has exploded in international recognition and value. As a result, this award celebrates the buzz about Tanta Barcelona in international circles.

While Mr. Acurio’s work is worthy of note, the list of the ten best also marks the explosion of Peruvian gastronomy in the world of cuisine. Not only is it found in Peru but increasingly in leading cities around the world where fine restaurants are adding their mark to a cuisine with its origins in the Andes.

Tanta was ranked fourth in the list of ten, but another Peruvian restaurant by South Asian entrepreneur Arjan Waney, Coya Restaurant and Bar in London, claimed the first position. Zagat describes it as “one of the hottest eateries to hit london this year.”

The chef at Coya, the acclaimed Sanjay Dwivedi, trained for this task in Mr. Acurio’s empire.  He worked for a year in Lima’s Astrid y Gastón restaurant.

Twenty percent of the top 10 Hottest Restaurants serve Peruvian cuisine (forty percent of the top five). This is an outstanding honor for a cuisine that germinated in kitchens throughout Peru, but that came to its present status in the hands of culinary institute-trained chefs who have taken it, refined it, and developed it.

This is a great moment to be a fan of Peruvian cuisine.