LOVE, LIMA

HOME of the potato and rich in rainbow-coloured maize, Peru has always been good to me. It’s a country where the legacy of the Andean civilisations is both mysterious and inspiring, the multicultural food complex with notes of chilli, coriander and lime, and the people always willing to offer advice about a lesser known huarique (hole-in-the-wall diner) or contemporary bar, or even take you there in person.

When I arrive in the capital, Lima, food writer and indie bookstore owner Javier Masías is waiting for me at Mérito, a compact, double-storey restaurant run by two Venezuelan chefs who have brought a taste of their home to a country that has, in recent times, seen the arrival of almost 800 000, a Peruvian stir-fry, served inside an (flatbread). Mérito represents the embodiment of Venezuelan flavours on Peruvian soil – they do it in a very clean, contemporary style.”