Peruvian Street Food?

Listen. The great Auguste Escoffier ranked Peruvian as the third greatest cuisine in the world — behind French and Chinese. The country is one of the world’s top culinary destinations. So why are we only just discovering it in Britain? We’ve had a handful of great Peruvian restaurants, like Lima and Ceviche, but why not on the street? That’s exactly what Carlo Carozzi has been asking himself. And why he can’t wait to wow the crowds with The Peruvian at the 2018 finals of The Scottish Street Food Awards.

“As a simple Peruvian guy living in Scotland for nearly 20 years, I missed the flavours of home” says Carlo. “And although five of the world’s top restaurants are in Lima, my home town, great food isn’t just about high-end restaurants – street food in the UK is massive and we wanted Peruvian food to make its mark on the street food scene in Scotland.”

So what can the people of Edinburgh – and judge Dale Mailley, head chef at The Gardener’s Cottage – expect at The Food and Flea in May? Well, expect the unexpected. Dishes such as lomo saltado, anticuchos and ceviche for instance. “Plus we’ll be using ingredients many people in Scotland will never have tasted – like our native chilli aji amarillo, queso fresco, and purple corn.”

The Peruvian community will certainly be out in numbers to show their support. Like they did last year, at the opening of the The Peruvian during the Edinburgh fringe. “After a few days trading the hidden Peruvian community found us – like guinea pigs coming out of their nests as they smelled the flavours of home.”

It helped that they were all able to watch the World Cup qualifiers at the stall. Four nail-biting games that culminated in Peru qualifying for the first time in 36 years. “Like all good Peruvians” says Carlo, “we celebrated with food and pisco”. Will they have something else to toast at the Awards this summer?