Restaurant Mayta, Lima, Peru

Did you know Peru is the hottest culinary destination right now? Three chefs from Lima actually made it to the top ten of "Latin Americas's 50 Best Restaurants" in 2014! While I was in Lima I was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of good restaurants. Mayta is one of them.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mayta's chef Jaime Pesaque, a rising star in the culinary world. In the past he worked in Italy and Spain (in a three Michelin star restaurant), but make no mistake, his signature dishes are definitely Peruvian. He showed me how he prepares "tiradito" a dish similar to the renowned "ceviche", however without the onions and the fish is not completely raw.

Watching chef Jaime Pesaque working his magic was wonderful, tasting his pieces of art was even better! The same can be said about the mouthwatering cocktails prepared by bartender Renzo Amaya. He has won several awards for making the best cocktails based on pisco. Well, let me tell you... rightly so!

The Peruvian version of limoncello was invented here, pi-cello, made of -you guessed that right- pisco. Like its big italian brother, picello is a very strong liqueur, so be careful! I personally loved the chilcano cocktails made with black corn, camu camu and goldenberry infused pisco. But then again, what's not to like at Mayta?

Restaurant Mayta opened its doors in 2010 becoming an instant hit among businessmen and young hipsters. According to The Diners Club® World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy "Chef Jaime Pesaque has become a global ambassador of Peruvian food [...] fusing the country's unique ingredients and seasonal produce with cutting-edge techniques". Enough reasons to pay Mayta a visit.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.maytarestaurante.com

For more information about Peru:
http://www.peru.travel

Special thanks to PromPeru and USP Marketing PR.