Lima : Gastronomic Capital of the Americas 

Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the most diverse in the world and is on par with French, Chinese and Indian cuisine. In January 2004, The Economist said that "Peru can lay claim to one of the world's dozen or so great cuisines", while at the Fourth International Summit of Gastronomy Madrid Fusión 2006, regarded as the world's most important gastronomic forum, held in Spain between January 17 and 19, Lima was declared the "Gastronomic Capital of the Americas".

Thanks to its pre-Incas and Incaheritage 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 (Peru is home to 84 of the 104 eco-systems existing on Earth)
• Peru's openness and blending of distinct races and cultures
• The incorporation of ancient cuisine into modern Peruvian cuisine

Preface from the book "The Art of Peruvian Cuisine" :

Are you surprised? Surprised to find that eating in Peru is one of the world´s exceptional gastronomic experiences? You are not alone. In fact, there are so many of you out there who have never heard of our cooking that we have felt compelled to create this book especially to remedy this sad state of affairs. With it we hope to introduce to our country´s cooking all those who´ve never tasted, or even heard of, the glories of Peruvian Cuisine.

Gastón Acurio is a Peruvian cheff and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. Together with his wife Astrid, he manages since 1994 the restaurant franchise Astrid & Gastón which opened originally in the district of Miraflores in Lima. This franchise has expanded over the years in Latin America and recently in Europe, opening restaurants in Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, Quito, Caracas, Panamá and Madrid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_Acurio

Part of An Interview with Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio:

Right now, in Peru, we are living in the middle of a gastronomic revolution. There is a boom in cookbooks, restaurants and cooking schools. We are the reference for the rest of South America. When people from other countries look at Peru they say, "The thing they do well is cook." Our approach to food is a model for the rest.

We have seen a lot of attention in the last year to Peruvian food. A lot of journalists, food journalists, have come to write about it because it is the up and coming cuisine in the world. We are where Mexican food was a quarter-century ago.

In the last three years we have seen Peruvian restaurants emerge as some of the best restaurants in the United States. That has never happened before. We are seeing high-end fine-dining Peruvian restaurants opening in Seattle, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

More Info in:

Peruvian Government website on Peruvian Gastronomy

http://www.perumuchogusto.com/indexing.asp

Video "Mucho Gusto": 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl-S85BtUGs

Peruvian Cuisine at Wikipedia: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_cuisine

Glossary of Peruvian Cuisine

http://www.theperuguide.com/gastronomy/peruvian-cuisine-glossary.html

Interview with Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio: