A slowly cooked success

The Global Forum on Gastronomy Tourism was launched in Lima in a congress centre that had opened last year, just in time for a planetary economic meeting. If you read the Peruvian news from the time, 2015, the same year as Expo in Milan, it’s striking how there was the same pessimism, the doubt that Lima, like Milan, wouldn’t make it. Instead, they both di, so 2300 people from 40 different countries met in the slopes of the Andes to discuss about something which is now established but which, until the beginning of the century, simply didn’t exist, at least not with this strength and proportions.

Two or three things struck me as soon as I arrived: first, the fact I was the only Italian in the audience together with Ryan King, an Englishman who now lives between the Duomo and the Navigli. Of course I hope I was mistaken but I felt like a black swan. The same goes in terms of speakers: everyone was well prepared and in the right place, but how can it be that there was no Italian worthy of being invited?

I asked one of the organisers and he confirmed what I suspected: they had indeed thought of a few people, but none of them had shown particular interest, perhaps because Peru is distant and sounds less exclusive than Paris or Singapore. Not counting that when they mentioned Slow Food, our very own usual envious people protested, explaining how the people from Bra were best ignored. We always make sure we stand out.

Second note: the event was opened by Ollanta Humala, the president of the Republic. Like Sergio Mattarella and Matteo Renzi at Vinitaly, one would say, except we still haven’t understood the economic power of the restaurant industry and the tourism it generates. The wine industry is different and its importance is easier to grasp. After communicating his sympathy to Ecuador in the aftermath of the earthquake and recalling that thanks to a new plant Lima now disposes of 97% of its waste, Humala, whose mandate is soon to expire, celebrated the gastronomic greatness of the country.

One can easily imagine his words, avoiding any roundabout expressions. Products... their variety... what people feel... and then a couple of facts: 1. The restaurant industry creates 300K jobs; 2. Compared to 2014, 3.5 millions of foreign tourists have arrived in 2015 instead of the previous 3 million and tourist packages now also include culinary destinations, not just the Amazon forest, the Andes, the ruins and the history; 3. The economy, which is stagnant in South America, grows in Peru. As if to say that this is their moment and they must take advantage of it: «Congresses such as this must serve to understand that the art of cooking and of hospitality is not just about great chefs and beautiful hotels. It is the institutions’ task to promote excellence in every direction so that the world will know that we have flavours that are impossible to imagine abroad».

And in this sense, you soon notice not just the work of ministries and associations, summed up in a beautiful mural illustrating an “a fuego lento” journey that began 22 years ago, in 1994, but also how ceviche, the fresh fish marinated on the spot, was chosen as the general emblem. It’s as if, following the impulse of the Dolce Vita, half a century ago every Italian chef had included in the menu, regardless of their style of offer, their Spaghetti with tomato and basil.

The forum’s watchword: sustainability. Getting further into detail, Rafael Anson, president of numerous cooking academies in Spain, the rest of Europe and South America, added four more concepts as «contemporary cuisine must be Healthy, Responsible, Sustainable and Satisfying. And tasty, finally, because if a dish doesn’t taste good, the rest no longer matters ».

3. To be continued
The previous episodes here, here and here