Join us back at the Central Library this month for chef Ricardo Zarate on “Peru: 5,000 Years of Fusion.”

Peruvian food is a blend of indigenous, European and Asian flavors. Chef Ricardo Zarate will walk us through regional and then fusion flavors as he discusses various dishes influenced by other cultures. From traditional Peruvian dishes such as aji de gallina (chicken stew), lomo saltado (marinated steak and potatoes), anticuchos (skewers, like the ones the chef once sold on the streets of Lima), and ceviche—to updated Peruvian comfort foods like Spanish mackerel in amarillo pepper sauce, cau cau (tripe stew), alpaca and lamb burgers, and mushroom risotto made with quinoa rather than rice, Zarate explains them all and shares recipes from his new book, The Fire of Peru: Recipes and Stories from My Peruvian Kitchen.

About the speaker:
Ricardo Zarate is the eleventh of thirteen siblings whose first professional cooking job was an elegant banquet for 600 in Lima, Peru. He was sixteen years old. After two years of culinary school and a stint in London, he moved to Los Angeles, working as a chef in Venice while launching Mo-Chica (followed by Picca and Paiche) in the warehouse district, juggling both jobs during 20-hour days. His dream of bringing Peruvian cuisine to the world got a major push in 2011 when Food and Wine Magazine named him Best New Chef in America. Says Zarate, “Peruvian cuisine evolved from Spanish, European, and Japanese influences; it’s a fusion cuisine, I just clean it up a little bit.”

Free and open to the public