GOOD

Karen Catchpole

Food

Fighting Hunger In Peru, One Cooking Class At A Time

“It might take 60 years to see a big change and I’ll be dead by then, but that doesn’t matter as long as the seeds we plant get harvested”

As Peru’s culinary star continues to rise and its capital, Lima, emerges as a world-class food-lover’s destination, many Peruvians still struggle with food shortages and malnutrition. Peruvian Chef Palmiro Ocampo is using his considerable talent to try to close the gap between haute cuisine and the thousands of Peruvians who don’t have enough to eat.

It’s been a big year for Lima-born Ocampo, who sharpened his skills in the kitchens of Noma and El Celler de Can Roca before striking out on his own. In April, he opened his latest restaurant, 1087 Bistro in Lima, and earlier in the year he was tapped to be the Gastronomic Director of Apega, the organization that runs the annual Mistura food festival, one of the biggest and most influential food festivals in South America, which kicks off September 2nd. However, the project that Ocampo—a self-described “compulsive recycler”—is most passionate about is his non-profit organization that teaches cooks creative techniques to utilize more of each ingredient in order to reduce food waste and eliminate hunger.

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