In Peru, everyone wanted to be a chef or a footballer

How is Peruvian cuisine growing in Dubai?

I used to work in Qatar about four years ago. Peruvian food was almost nonexistent. There was one place that had Latin American food, with Peruvian cuisine under that broad umbrella. I came to Dubai in 2014, almost two years ago. There was just The Act, serving beautiful, high-end Peruvian food, although it was not advertised as a Peruvian restaurant. There was also Toro Toro, but again, that was more Latin American than Peruvian. Now there are seven restaurants and there will probably be about 10 by the end of this year. It is definitely growing fast in Dubai. In the 90s, Peruvian food was quite popular in some of our neighbouring countries in Latin America and a few countries, like Spain, outside of Peru. Today it’s the fastest growing cuisine in the world.

What was it like when you decided to become a chef?

Fifteen years ago, when I told my family I wanted to become a chef they thought I was joking. There were maybe two culinary schools, and really expensive, too. I was lucky because my father had a friend who opened a culinary school, and I got in. I finished culinary school by the time I was 18. I started working, and after 3-4 years, the chef scene in Peru exploded — there were some 50 new schools, and everyone wanted to be either a football player or a chef!

What is a quintessential Peruvian dish?

You can find ceviche in every country that’s by the Pacific Ocean in Central and South America, but for us Peruvians, it is the national dish. You could ask 10 Peruvians what is the most important dish and nine would say ceviche — the other is probably crazy! Ceviche is everything for us. We eat ceviche with our friends at cevicherias, specialist places that make ceviche. We also have a ceviche day that’s a national holiday. It’s a very simple dish, passed down from the Incas, but it means the world to us.

A dish from the Ceviche menu that you like to whip up in your kitchen at home?

My favourite dishes are the Ceviche Clasico and Pulpo Anticuchero.

What is the best compliment you have received at Ceviche?

There was a Peruvian lady who came in a few days ago and she ordered the Chupe de camarones (shrimp chowder) which is a traditional dish that’s served particularly in the south of Peru. She asked the staff to call the chef, and when I went out she had tears in her eyes and was so emotional. She said that it tasted

exactly like her mom used to make before she passed away many years ago. That was the most amazing feeling.

What is the average spend at Ceviche?

About Dh120-130 for a starter, entrée and dessert. It’s affordable and traditional Peruvian street food. Not everyone has to be a tycoon to come to our huarique.

Which is your favourite dish from the Ceviche menu that you love to whip up even in your kitchen at home?

My favourite dishes are the Ceviche Clasico and Pulpo Anticuchero.

Peruvian apart, which is your favourite cuisine? And where do you get eat it?

I am a big fan of Asian cuisine. I usually spend my free time eating Filipino, Indonesian or Vietnamese food in small restaurants in Bur Dubai.

When you first started cooking, what was the first dish you were proud of?

Seco de Cordero — because it was one of my father’s favourite dishes and is now on our menu.

If not a chef, what would you be?

Maybe I would’ve been some kind of handicraft artisan.

We have a ceviche day that’s a national holiday. Ceviche is a simple dish, passed down from the Incas, but it means the world to us