Peruvian food and drink has a long and distinguished history and for many has come to be considered one of the finest and fastest growing international gastronomic movements today. In Spring 2012 chef Virgilio Martinez and the Gonzalez brothers, will open LIMA in Fitzrovia, London, a new restaurant integrating traditional and contemporary Peruvian cuisine.
Virgilio Martinez is currently chef patron of Central restaurant in Lima. Prior to this, Virgilio held the position of executive chef at Astrid y Gaston, listed in the San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants and has also worked in noteable kitchens in New York, London, Singapore, France and Spain. Now however, Virgilio is concentrating on his first international solo venture, LIMA in London, which will parallel the culinary offerings at Central.
The menu at LIMA will be casual and dynamic, with the venue resembling that of a cevicheria, a casual cuisine restaurant where fish and shellfish are sold, raw or cooked, where the dish most representative is ceviche. However, the restaurant will not be confined solely to seafood, the menu will also offer regional dishes, such as shrimp chupe, anticuchos and causas. The interior designers, March & White (responsible for the recent redesign of The Arts Club in Mayfair and the design of Jamie's Italian restaurant group), will deliver a high impact and exciting design for the restaurant in line with the LIMA identity.
Peruvian cuisine has a long and distinguished history. The potato was brought back to Europe having been discovered high in the Peruvian Andes. With Spanish colonisation and migration from Africa, China, Italy and Japan a huge variety of influences and techniques have been brought to bear on the indigenous cuisine, with resulting dishes such as ceviches, stews, chifa (Peruvian influenced Chinese food) and Nikkei (Peruvian influenced Japanese food). A strong regional identity predominates, with dishes from the Andean region still featuring ingredients from pre-inca times, or the cuisine of the jungle which has its own fish, fruit and vegetables.