Tastes of Lima

In the language of ancient Perú yanuq meant hearth, home...

>>Thanks to the efforts of a couple of enterprising Peruvian businesswomen, visitors can now sample the city's diverse fare. Culinary Tour Peru offers a one-day crash course in local cuisine. The brainchild of longtime travel-industry entrepreneur Patricia La Rosa, the six-hour "golden" tour includes a buffet lunch and visits to a typical sevichería and a 19th-century Lima tavern, where tourists learn how to prepare the tangy seafood appetizer and test their bartending skills with the pisco grape liquor ($55 to $90 per person, minimum two clients; culinarytour.com.pe ).

For serious foodies, Wendy Alperstein launched her Taste of Peru tours four years ago to promote the indigenous, Spanish and Asian culinary influences. An eight-day, seven-night package features multi-course fusion dinners at the top-drawer Lima restaurants Astrid y Gastón and Malabar, and a class led by chefs who demonstrate pachamanca, a native cooking technique that uses a pit covered with hot stones and firewood to bake meats wrapped in banana leaves. The itinerary includes an excursion to an open-air food market and side trips to Machu Picchu and Cuzco, where guests are treated to coca-leaf tea and a dinner of indigenous dishes like capchi de setas, a casserole made with oyster mushrooms and sieva beans (about $2,700 per person; magicalcuzcotours.com). "There is so much to taste, and we want you to taste it all," says Alperstein. Your palate will never be the same.