Upbeat, modern and cool, Llama Inn pays respect to all styles of Peruvian cooking, but with the technical flair of Chef Erik Ramirez who has trained in New York’s top restaurants. The result is a fresh, fun and spontaneous cuisine that aims to elevate Peruvian food.

Luis Caballero

Caleta 111, Richmond Hill, NY

Caleta – whose name translates as “hidden hideout”’ in Peruvian slang is one of the most delicious, surprising and impressive gastronomic experience in the Queens neighborhood of Richmond Hills. In 2020, the small restaurant was given a one-star review by the New York Times’ renowned food critic Pete Wells and in 2021, it earned a spot on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list, picking up the highest entry on any other eateries in the area - a testament to the consistently mind-blowing nature of its gastronomic offer, which has been described as a roller-coaster ride of cocina marina peruana.

As a young child, Chef Caballero knew exactly what he wanted when he grew up – a wildly popular restaurant where people would queue for hours for a table. This is a chef with a passion to convey originality, dare and respect for the history and heritage of Peruvian cuisine.

Griela Perez

Las PolLeras de Agustina, CuZco, Peru

More than an ethnic clothing brand, Las Polleras de Agustina is a blend of respect, passion and admiration for Peru’s identity and cultural heritage. Las Polleras de Agustina was founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Griela Perez with the vision to reclaim traditional garments that have been lost over time; incorporating them into contemporary fashion pieces and creating a versatile and eco-friendly line of garments and accessories.

Her brand generates employment with artists from vulnerable areas of different provinces of Peru, working for the recovery of traditional Peruvian clothing and techniques and incorporating them into a contemporary style.

Griela explore the other side of the fashion industry, offering to her clientele top quality sewing, weaving and embroidery from her ethical, ethnic and sustainable point of view.

Luis Blasini-Sinchi

7 Doors Down Ramen, Bloomfield, NJ

Chef Luis Blasini-Sinchi’s love affair with gastronomy is in his DNA. Fascinated by the art of cooking very early on, it led him to attend culinary school, where he began his academic training. After graduating in culinary arts, he worked in many kitchens that led him to shape his style and bring to his craft a unique type of creativity.

At new restaurant 7 Doors Down Ramen in Bloomfield, NJ, he has created an exciting and colorful Nikkei menu proving that his desire to spread the joy of Peruvian-Japanese cuisine knows no bounds.

Simply put, Nikkei cuisine is a combination of Peruvian ingredients defined by Japanese techniques. But the dishes at Chef Luis Blasini’s 7 Doors Down are anything but simple. Embodying this principle, the menu showcases delicious, meticulous, and well-crafted creations enriched by an intense intercultural exchange living in harmony to create a third-reality, Peruvian Nikkei Cuisine.

Ezequiel Valencia

Bravazo Restaurant, Queens, NY

Chef Ezequiel Valencia is the man behind Bravazo, a restaurant that opened in 2019 and has already become one of the most enchanting places to eat Peruvian cuisine in Queens, New York. Valencia’s cooking there reflects an emphasis on ingredients and traditional techniques to transform them into today’s context. All with a measured approach that manages to make things feel, look, and taste both impressive and legible.

Born in a country house in the province of Ancash, Peru and a few kilometers away from El Callejon de Huaylas, Valencia fell in love with the magic of cooking as a kid. His family house had no electricity or gas and he remembers fondly the times when his mother and grandmother cooked on the open hearth. Despite a stellar 30-year career, the chef has remained as humble as he was on his first day in the kitchen. “The beginnings were hard because I don’t come from the culinary profession, I started from scratch. I worked in many fields before I achieved my dream, which was to cook and have my own restaurant”, said Chef Ezequiel.

Yuki Nakandakari

Ceviche Brothers, Washington, D.C., Maryland & Virginia

Chef Yuki Nakandakari can’t remember a time when food and cooking weren’t a central part of his life. But it took a little nudging from life experiences to realize that he could make his inherited fondness of cuisine into a career. For Chef Yuki, his cooking is an expression of the ongoing culinary story of Peru, nourishing guests with memory and imagination.

Yuki is a Peruvian chef of Japanese ancestry based in the DMV area and considered by many food observers as a natural powerhouse of creativity. He has run such popular restaurants as Pisco in Baltimore and Ocopa in Washington D.C., with the latter earning a spot on the Michelin Guide in 2017 during his tenure. His immaculate attention to details permeates his endless respect for Peru’s vibrant ingredients and its culinary traditions. He most recent culinary project is named “Ceviche Brothers”; a popular ceviche pop-up in the DMV area where he has treated ceviche as his canvas and made it his own. At his pop-up he has continued to grow his menu along with his loyal following.

Michael Ciuffardi

Inca Social Restaurant, Vienna, VA

Michael Ciuffardi is a young talented chef that brings a cuisine that has a taste of many of the things that make Peruvian food so unique; fresh, authentic and brimming with flavour.

Chef Ciuffardi graduated from culinary school in 2009 and somewhere in the back of his mind he always knew he wanted to explore his roots in greater detail. But first he built his restaurant résumé: Clocking time at Italian and Japanese restaurants in Lima, then at the renowned Astrid & Gaston, and finally making a solid run at Master Chef, a Peruvian cooking competition. Today, he runs the successful restaurant Inca Social in Vienna, Virginia with a menu that harmonizes traditional Peruvian flavors with modern techniques.

Mothers and Grandmothers can often be the formative influence in a chef's love of cooking. For Michael Ciuffardi, it is the inspiration and knowledge that come from experiences and memories in the kitchen with his Mom Gloria and Abuela Candelaria that influenced, not only his cooking style and creativity, but also helped formed the foundations of a lifelong culinary passion. “I used to spend most my life with them in Lima, and since a very young age, I used to go alongside them to pick up vegetables and other items to the neighborhood’s street market to cook at home. I was in charge to cleaning the veggies, washing, stirring, tasting, smelling, learning and helping where I could because it was an important bonding time for us. I didn’t know it then, but it’s what shaped me into the chef that I am today. Cooking with respect, affection and generosity is the key learning they passed onto me.” says Chef Michael.

Archie Marquez

Costa Verde Grill, VA

Countless chefs speak of their mothers as their inspiration, the wind beneath their wings — and this certainly is the case for Chef Archie Marquez. For Chef Marquez, his passion for food started with family after watching the labours and tasting the flavours of love in his mother’s cooking. He attests that Rosa Ramirez, his mother, as a great influence on his successful career.

In 1999, Chef Marquez arrived to the United States with nothing but a luggage full of dreams. He started culinary training and began at the bottom of many kitchens as a dishwasher, but his ambitions to become a chef grew as he saw the joy and the bonds it created when cooking for others.

He worked and learned from mentors that shaped his culinary aspirations and helped him achieve his goals. Since opening and operating the successful Mercadito Gourmet and Chilcano’s restaurant, Chef Marquez has never rested on his laurels. In 2022. he reached a new milestone in his career by opening a new project; Costa Verde Grill, a restaurant that will emphasize Peruvian ingredients and traditional techniques to transform them into today’s context.

Bell Ruiz

La KoKona Restaurant, Clifton, NJ

Bell Ruiz is a Chef who has worked all her life to highlight the foods of the Amazon jungle and exploring Peru’s biodiversity and natural resources to create traditional dishes that enliven an impressive signature cuisine at her restaurant La Kokona.

With all the attention paid to Peruvian food in recent years, the cuisine of the Amazon has been all but ignored. Bell Ruiz of La Kokona Restaurant is a rare exception, she uses ingredients from the Peruvian Amazon, Peru’s largest and least populated region where she has spend her life developing a relationship between her passion for cooking and Amazonian ingredients. The result is a restaurant with a purpose to show the richness of the Amazon, it’s cuisine, and culture.

Carlos Caro

Mancora Restaurant, Paterson, NJ

Carlos Caro is another example of how becoming a successful chef is often just down to pure determination and hard work. It’s hard to believe, but Chef Caro hasn’t always been a chef. While living in Peru he was a taxi driver eagerly looking for a chance, and knew that ability was of little account without an opportunity, so he left his driving job and started culinary training at the Cordon Bleu. Through hard work and perseverance, he had already excelled in food, and had worked in many restaurants, including the renowned restaurant Manhattan in Lima and was mentored by famous chef Humberto Sato; pioneer of Nikkei food.

Years later, Chef Caro launched his own restaurants; La Casa de la Abuela and La Casa de mi Madre in Surco-Lima and it soon received success and popularity. “Spreading the knowledge and technique of Peruvian food is my calling,” says Caro, who always aims to intrigue diners with his unique artistry and passion. Now living in the Unites States, his aim is to continue the success he shared in Lima and create a menu that takes diners on a creative voyage through Peru, showcasing the diverse landscape and ethnicities that make up the country’s culture.

Daryl Cabreras & Catherine Cubillas

Sushi To Box, Newark, NJ

Daryl Cabreras and Catherine Cubillas believe their work behind the sushi bar is as much a performing and visual art as it is a culinary craft. They began as supermarket sushi chefs with much success until the experience further cemented a newfound passion which eventually developed into a career they both wanted to pursue.

Daryl and Catherine fell into the world of sushi and decided to create Sushi to Box, a small restaurant specializing in Sushi with a mixture of flavors that integrate Peruvian and Japanese ingredients at its highest level. Sushi to Box is a sushi restaurant making and delivering made-to-order, fresh cuisine with a delicious and fun twist.

Aristoteles Breña

Nazca 21 Restaurant, Panama City, Panama

The culinary career of Peruvian chef Aristóteles Breña began in Panama, a city to which he emigrated from his native Salcabamba, Huancavelica - Peru in the 1990s. It was at the Mar del Sur restaurant, in the heart of the San Francisco neighborhood, where he discovered his passion for cooking, a gastronomic love that would later lead him to specialize in international Peruvian cuisine.

Later he became involved in other projects, he was head chef of Inka Grill restaurant, he led the kitchen of Machu Picchu restaurant and then he was in charge of the kitchen at Fina Estampa restaurant. His continuous rise led him to specialize in Mexico, Costa Rica and Lima. After 25 years of being in charge of many restaurants, chef Aristóteles fulfilled his dream for which every cook works, and opened his first establishment in 2015 with the name Nazca 21 in the majestic city of Casco Antiguo in Panama.

Miguel Garcia

Wasi Peruvian Cuisine, Washington D.C.

Chef Miguel Garcia is the founder of P.A.C.H.A (Peruvian American Chef Association), an organization funded in 2008 committed to the advancing of Peruvian gastronomy in the United States. Chef Garcia is a leading culinary professional and continues his P.A.C.H.A membership as a mentor to other chefs.

Chef Garcia was born in Peru and studied culinary arts in Cenfotur (Centro de Formacion de Turismo) Located in Lima, Peru. Chef Miguel worked at different renowned restaurants before opening the popular and successful La Ostra and La Balsa. In 2000, Chef Garcia came to the United States to start a new chapter in life along with the dreams of promoting and diffusing Peruvian gastronomy. He worked his way up to open his own restaurant; Wasi Peruvian Cuisine and since then has been dedicated to offer his restaurant guests a unique gastronomic experience of Peruvian cuisine. With great determination, effort and more that 30 years of culinary experience, he has achieved many of his long time goals and has earned many cooking awards, all this allowing him to walk a path where the impact of his service has been clear and rewarding.