Peruvians are rightly passionate about food. Their pride in Peruvian cuisine has been fuelled in the past two decades or so by a wave of international culinary awards that has forged sense of belonging and visibility on the world stage. Yet, behind this “gastronationalism” lies a more complex story about inequality and exclusion.The rise to international prominence of Peruvian cuisine, often referred to as the “gastronomic boom”, started to gather pace in the late 20th century. It was spearheaded by Peruvian chefs who studied or trained abroad and returned to Lima, the capital of Peru, with new culinary ideas. There is a clear consensus among Peruvians that the pioneer of this movement was Gastón Acurio. He created upscale Peruvian restaurants at a time when Lima’s elite favoured French and Italian restaurants. His efforts extended beyond the kitchen. He published books, was a key figure in organising Mistura (Lima’s first major culinary festival) and co-founded Apega (the society of Peruvian gastronomy). Throughout his endeavours, his message was clear: “Cuisine unites Peruvians in a shared sense of pride and faith in ourselves.”Acurio’s success inspired a new generation of celebrity chefs, among them chef Virgilio Martínez, owner of Central, and chef Mitsuharu “Micha” Tsumura, owner of Maido. Both restaurants have secured the top spot in the list compiled by industry bible, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants: Central in 2023 and Maido in 2025. This has reinforced Peru’s place on the global culinary map. The South American country has earned the title of the World’s Best Culinary Destination 12 times since 2012 (only missing out in 2020). Antony Bourdain visits Peru. Peru’s gastronomic boom offered a powerful unifying narrative in a country whose national identity has been fragmented by class, racial, and ethnic inequalities due to the Spanish colonisation in 1532. Peru’s sense of itself was further shattered by two devastating decades of internal terrorism and economic crisis in the 1980s and 1990s. A recent Ipsos survey has confirmed this, revealing that Peruvian cuisine is the number one reason for national pride, with 48% of Peruvians citing it.Hard-to-swallow truthsGastronationalism can easily morph into chauvinism. Last month, Spanish influencer Ibai Llanos organised the “World Breakfast Cup” on his social media platforms, an online voting contest featuring breakfasts from 16 countries including the UK, Japan, Peru and other countries in Latin America. Peru’s pan con chicharrón (fried pork belly and sweet potato sandwich) won the tournament, defeating dishes from Mexico, Ecuador, Chile and Venezuela. Peru’s champion breakfast: pan con chicharron – a pork and sweet potato sandwich.. Carolina_Ugarte_Photo/Shutterstock The victory sparked a national celebration and boosted delivery orders of pan con chicharrón. But it also revealed a less savoury side of the competition. Some Peruvians took to the internet to mock rival cuisines, even going as far as to compare Ecuador’s bolón de verde to faeces.It’s important to note that this gastronationalism – and the high-end cooking which has pushed Peru to the top of the world cuisine charts – occurs in a country where 17.6 million Peruvians (51% of the population) suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity and are unable to access a healthy diet because food costs have risen faster than wages. In a country that is rightly celebrated for its cuisine, which is attracting growing numbers of visitors specifically for its food, 43.7% of children under three suffer from anaemia and 12.1% of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Many people depend on community soup kitchens. In 2020 it was estimated there were more than 15,000 community kitchens providing for nearly 800,000 people. But there are concerns that all-too-often these community kitchens are unable to cater for the cultural and nutritional needs of Peru’s diverse population, particularly its Indigenous groups.Peru’s gastronationalism also risks reproducing colonial hierarchies that promoted some people to elite status while, at the same time, marginalising Andean and Amazonian communities. In the food landscape, celebrity chefs from Lima often profit from Indigenous ingredients and techniques without providing fair compensation to the Indigenous communities that have safeguarded them for centuries. A prime example is the guinea pig, (in Spanish: cuy). This has been a staple protein served and eaten whole in Andean communities for millennia. In the hands of elite restaurateurs, this has been transformed into delicacies such as cuy pekinés (a guinea pig prepared in the style of Peking duck) or as filling for ravioli. Due to the sort of exorbitant prices charged for these dishes, these communities are excluded from tasting the reinterpreted versions of their own cultural expressions. Thus, celebrity chefs’ endeavours are built on an intricate dynamic of cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation – where a “borrowed” recipe or idea becomes more valuable the further it is taken from its Indigenous origins.The paradox of Peru’s gastronationalism is that while it promotes a narrative of unity it simultaneously reinforces the divisions it claims to overcome. Celebrating food is not the issue. The issue is allowing that celebration to become an excuse for inaction over food poverty and inequality. True culinary success will be measured not by more awards. It should be judged on whether the prosperity of the “gastronomic boom” can be extended beyond Lima’s elite restaurants to tackle the foundational inequalities upon which the current system is built.Belinda Zakrzewska does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.