SHIP to SHORE
CHEF FRANCK’S LIMA Franck Garanger, Oceania Cruises’ Corporate Executive Chef, shares his top picks for where to eat when disembarking in Peru’s vibrant capital city
Nestled between the North Pacific and the peaks of the Andes, the ‘City of Kings’ is a melting pot of culture. Streets are dotted with warm-hued, colonial-era buildings, cathedrals built by Spanish conquistadors and modern skyscrapers. Peru’s largest city is home to 43 districts – from bohemian Barranco to affluent Miraflores – and a cuisine our guests mention long after we’ve set sail. I can’t wait to revisit – and luckily, eight of Oceania Cruises’ new Tropics and Exotics routes will be docking just west of Lima, giving ample opportunity.
When it comes to what to eat, the county’s ubiquitous ceviche tastes best with chifle (fried plantain chips), and there’s really no better place to find these than lively Surquillo Market. Also known as Mercado 1, it’s my go-to destination for authentic local cuisine. Here you can join the locals at street-food kiosks serving lomo saltado, which combines the Chinese flavours of wok-fried beef with indigenous ingredients like amarillo chillies, tomatoes and red onions, all served with fries. Or try African-influenced tacu tacu, rice and bean patties served with toppings like fried egg and steak. Wandering between the stalls, you’ll find dried herbs, fresh fruit, a bounty of meats, native fish and curious ingredients that will surprise and inspire new culinary ventures.
For fine dining, Virgilio Martínez’s sleek flagship restaurant, Central, is a shrine to Peruvian biodiversity and infinite appetite for fresh ingredients, with 12- and 17-course tasting menus paying homage to native and rare ingredients from high altitude to below sea level. His ‘red rocks’ showcases succulent razor clams and goose barnacles, while ‘Amazonian lake’ – my favourite – features piranha, cocona fruit and nutty notes of yuca root. Before lifting the anchors, commemorate your trip with a glass of Pisco Sour – refreshing grape spirit mixed with egg white, sugarcane syrup and lime juice at the old-style Antigua
Taberna Queirolo.