Can a chef be a vehicle for social change? Can the explosion of Peruvian food worldwide transform a nation? For young Peruvians, is their future in Peru or abroad?

Last March, renowned Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio was the featured speaker at the opening of Lima’s University of the Pacific 2006-2007 academic year.

His speech was published on countless websites and numerous blogs, such as Apuntes de Cocina. Not only did he speak about his own personal philosophy in the creation of his brands, but also how Peruvian cuisine can become a key to fundamentally change Peru.

I’ve had this speech for a long time in my drafts folder, and I’ve finally had the time to translate it into English. It doesn’t matter that this speech was given over a year ago. As I re-read it, it still has resonance. It is lengthy, but any serious student of Peruvian cuisine will be fascinated to read one man’s vision for his craft and ultimately, his country.

Speech given by Gastón Acurio at the opening ceremony for the 2006-07 academic year at the University of the Pacific, March 2006 in Lima.

“While we may believe Peru’s natural resources have been a blessing, history has shown us otherwise.

At one time we had a rubber boom, then it was guano, and now it is minerals. But, when resources run out, the boom times end. Then, we have uncertainty and a weakened democracy, which give rise to leaders of dubious merits.

Clearly, a country’s growth, stability, and wealth are not due solely to its natural resources.

More important is what a country produces with those resources. For example, Switzerland purchases cacao and gold to make chocolate, jewelry, and watches. Japan and Korea buy minerals and transform them into automobiles and appliances.

Those countries, in fact all the industrialized countries, also understand that great wealth is not obtained solely by generic products, but by quality brands which are then exported globally.

From cacao, Switzerland produces Nestlé; from gold, Rolex. Japan turns minerals into Toyota and Nissan; Korea into Samsung. On an individual level, Howard Shultz buys coffee worldwide and brews us Starbucks.

Until recently, Peruvian food was simply a resource. Beloved by all Peruvians, a source of pride for us, and appreciated by foreigners on trips to Peru.

But, Peruvian cuisine has great potential be exported worldwide. However, to do so, the different types of Peruvian cuisines and culinary concepts need to be valued, and then framed conceptually.

There are immense opportunities to take concepts from our local environment and transform them into global brands.

In Peru, we have cocina criolla (coastal traditional cuisine), pollerías (roast chicken), chifas (Peruvian Chinese restaurants), novoandina cuisine (nouvelle Andean), Arequipa-style picanterías (traditional eateries in the style of Arequipa), anticucherías (Peruvian brochettes), Peruvian sandwiches, Nikkei (Peruvian Japanese), and cebicherías (ceviche and seafood).

If Peru exported these products, they wouldn’t simply compete against other long-established culinary concepts, such as pizzerias, hamburger stands, sushi bars, and Mexican restaurants. They would also create a national brand for Peru; and consequently, provide great economic benefits for the country.

I believe we do understand that this resource so full of potential, our Peruvian cuisine, is ready to expand globally.

So, what’s missing? Why aren’t we taking off as we should?

All the international market research conducted outside Peru indicates that Peruvian is the culinary concept with the greatest growth potential. Internationally, the demand for Peruvian restaurants far surpasses the offer. In fact, right now, investing in a Peruvian restaurant in a city in Europe or North America carries almost zero risk.

In Peru, we have experienced a publishing and educational revolution with regards to our food. In the last ten years, more books have been published about Peruvian cuisine than in Peru’s entire publishing history. In the last five years, 22 officially-recognized cooking schools have opened in Lima, making it the city with more cooking schools than any other in the world.

In 2006, 30% of tourists who came to Peru to visit Cuzco decided to stay in Lima a couple of extra days because of what they’d read or heard about our food. Journalists are constantly sent here to cover the Peruvian food revolution. Their articles and TV programs all predict an imminent global Peruvian food invasion.

So, if we have all these indicators, why aren’t there Peruvian restaurants in every corner of the world?

I think the answer is quite clear.

We may have the resources. We may have the products. But, we lack the brands.

We lack globally known Peruvian food brands. That’s the key.

Some say we also lack capital or infrastructure. But, almost daily I get offers from Saudi Arabia to Australia from people who want to invest in Peruvian restaurants. We reject most of these offers because I believe everything has its opportune time and place.

What Peruvian chefs and businesspeople have to do is to create a Peruvian brand. And we need to provide investors with not just one concept, but many different investment options.

To create a brand, you first have to develop it. You have to take a small great idea, a small great dream, and transform it into a powerful philosophy so it grows incrementally until it becomes a model to study, emulate, admire, and in which to invest.

With regards to my organization, from the start we began developing culinary concepts that were not just focused on becoming international, but also segmenting into different products. From the onset, we understood restaurants are not just generic places, but spaces that vary for different audiences, for different times, and for different pocketbooks.

Original Source: Gastón Acurio: A Philosophy For Conquering The World With Peruvian Food