Acknowledgments

Ana Belaunde is the creator of Limaná, a cozy establishment that has become the first restaurant in South America to obtain the highest rating given out by the London-based Sustainable Restaurant Association. How did this idea come about?

Belaunde says it was her deep love for animals that convinced her to change her diet. She took nutrition courses, and shared them with her family first. She learned how to eat and discovered the many benefits of a nutritious diet.

The result is a menu that offers something for vegans, vegetarians, fish lovers, and keto and paleo enthusiasts. Good food. Delicious food. Without sacrificing our health or the environment. That was her motto, and she lived up to it.

Of challenges, there were many, such as introducing new dishes to a clientele who were unfamiliar with the products. The second major challenge was to ensure the traceability of her ingredients, so she could guarantee that they meet the standards required of a sustainable restaurant. And the third was to put together a team with a culture of sustainability built into its very DNA. Ana Belaunde has achieved all of this.

She watches with pride as a spectacular ratatouille acevichado or a no-less-impressive broccoli steak arrive at the table. “We’ve worked hard to create nutritious dishes using superfoods. We’ve included new vegetables and we’ve switched up a few things to keep people on their toes,” she explains.

Limaná is what it is thanks to the best practices they follow here. They only use fish caught by local artisanal fishermen. They buy fresh ingredients directly from farmers. There is no cane sugar in their desserts, only natural sweeteners like honey, natural stevia, or coconut palm sugar. They don’t deep fry anything. They have a reverse osmosis plant that allows them to cook with purified water. They compost all their organic waste. And that’s just the beginning. There’s no denying that this is an exemplary effort with tremendous potential.