Acknowledgments
Commemorative Award
Mariano Valderrama, a tireless researcher
He was a man with big dreams who relished a challenge. Out of his infinite love for Peruvian cuisine, he became one of the founders of the Mistura festival: in its day, the best showcase for Peruvian food, not only for Peruvians but for all the world to see. Mariano Valderrama achieved something few people do: unity.
Valderrama, who was also the founder of the Peruvian Culinary Society (Sociedad Peruana de Gastronomía), passed away on October 7, 2019, at the age of 75. At that time, he was working to have cebiche declared a part of the world’s cultural heritage by UNESCO. A sociologist by profession, life led him to the kitchen, where he became a guide for diners and sybarites and a promoter of chefs.
Mariano Valderrama was not one to stay still for very long. Like the good researcher he was, he traveled frequently to learn about the origins of Peruvian cuisine, touring our country’s different regions with stops in restaurant kitchens and tiny holes in the wall.
In 1993, he published his book Gastromanía, about the city’s most renowned holes in the wall. He would later write El libro de oro de las comidas peruanas (2006), Pachamanca. El festín de los dioses (2001), and El reino del loche (2013), among others.
The researcher was concerned that future chefs were not reading enough. “No one is interested in reading. You can’t understand Peru’s culinary culture if you don’t read about its history, if you don’t travel to these regions to find out about culinary tradition, and if you don’t have a thorough knowledge of the ingredients,” he once said in an interview.
Until the very end, Valderrama was proud of Mistura’s significance to the local culinary scene. In his final articles and interviews, he made it clear that there was still much urgent work to be done where our exquisite food is concerned. He valued creativity and inspiration, but he was preoccupied with innovation and business management. Were we truly prepared? In 2024, this question remains an important one.
Valderrama was clear-eyed about the fact that we still have a long way to go for our ancient and diverse cuisine to shine on the world stage. But it was he who guided us as we took our first steps down that path.
