Mistura is Lima, Peru’s annual gastronomic festival. Now in its 3^rd year, the festival is running for longer and attracting bigger names than in its previous incarnations.

This year the festival is being held from September 9-18 and will attract internationally acclaimed chefs such as Ferran Adria of El Bulli, Alex Atala of D.O.M. in Sao Paulo, Dan Barber of Blue Hill in New York, Massimo Bottura of Italy’s La Osteria Francescana, Rene Redezipi of Copenhagen’s Noma, Quique Dacosta of Spain’s Quique Dacosta Restaurant, and many other Peruvian chefs such as Gaston Acurio, Rafael Piqueras, Rafael Osterling, Virgilio Martinez, and Pedro Miguel Schiaffino.

The event is expected to draw more than 300,000 attendees, with more than 4,000 coming from outside of Peru. The Mistura set up is this: you enter a gate into Lima’s Parque de la Expocision in the center of the city. Inside along the edges and scattered throughout are food stands from restaurants, 250 in all, all over Peru that are serving a few specialty dishes. The restaurants are a combination of well-known and higher end places in Lima to simpler regional huariques. Special zoned areas are dedicated to bread, pisco, chocolate, coffee, and Nikkei food. There is also a marketplace with specialty products, countless demonstration and lecture stages, and live entertainment and parades. It’s like a Peruvian food Disney World. While there are plenty of free samples, food and drinks from the stands is bought with tickets, which can be purchased in separate stands throughout the park. Tickets are 12 soles for a full portion, 6 soles for a half portion or dessert, or 3 soles for a drink.

The doors open at 11pm. Get there early and try to go during the first days of the festival to avoid the largest lines and crowds.

Mistura 2011: September 9th-18th
Tickets: S/.12-20. Available at Teleticket
Parque de la Exposicion
11am-11pm
www.mistura.pe

Nicholas Gill (470 Posts)

Writer and photographer Nicholas Gill is the editor/publisher of New World Review. He lives in Lima, Peru and Brooklyn, New York. His work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, CondeNast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Afar, and Penthouse. Visit his personal website (nicholas-gill.com) for more information.