During the 2019 Fórum Gastronómico Barcelona, Peruvian ceviche took the title for “New Favorite Dish of the Catalans.” Is ceviche your favorite Peruvian dish?
Peruvian chocolate is amazing, but first: Peruvian ceviche.
The simple dish of raw fish, limón, julienned onions, aji, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper has won many hearts in Barcelona—over 21,000 in fact. Last week, during the 2019 edition of the Fórum Gastronómico Barcelona, the national dish of Peru was voted “New Favorite Dish of the Catalans.”
Nicky Ramos, the Peruvian chef behind Barcelona’s own Leche de Tigre restaurant, prepared the triumphant ceviche dish. Twelve international dishes competed this year. Second place was awarded to the Lebanese falafal.
“Very happy to bring the freshness of the ceviche,” commented Ramos. “There are over 100 restaurants in Catalonia representing Peru and for us it is an honor. It is incredible that we [Peruvians] have begun to be recognized in a place as complicated as Catalonia, to be an international reference in the culinary world and to have so much gastronomic strength.”
It’s known that for a fresh ceviche, one must travel along the coast of Peru. The origin of the favorite dish however is debatable.
Some credit the Moche culture in the north of Peru, where it’s been suggested inhabitants would eat fish and seafood cured in chicha (fermented corn). Others have theorized that the Spanish gave way to the use of lemon and garlic to bathe and ‘cook’ the fish. Still, others go beyond the Peruvian border to credit Mediterranean cultures. And let’s not even get started on the great debate of the best cevichería in Peru’s capital.
A key event for professionals in the gastronomic world, the Fórum Gastronómico Barcelona was held November 18-20 in the metropolitan Spanish city. Workshops, forums and expositors attract over 20,000 visitors to the gastronomic fair year after year.
Source: El Comercio
Cover photo: Heroina Estudio/El Comercio
