Page 139 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER 2024 SCOTLAND

Story & Photography by Kitty Morse

have long been familiar with Le Cordon
Bleu cooking schools in France and the
US, and with the organization’s stellar
I reputation. Little did I know however,
that the Lima campus, known as the Le
Cordon Bleu Peru Educational Network, is
the largest in Latin America, and one of the
largest in the world, offering training in
gastronomy, bartending, and hospitality
management.
It all started with a simple query: I was
traveling to the Peruvian Amazon on a
medical mission, and thought I would spend
a few days in Lima on my return. I had read
of Lima’s unique Peruvian cuisine and its
Michelin-starred restaurants garnering ac‐
claim all over the globe. My curiosity as a
cookbook writer was piqued, and I couldn’t
bypass the opportunity to request a visit to
the campus.
“Cierto! Of course!” came the welcoming
reply.
“In exchange, would you like me to give
a talk on Moroccan food to your students?”
“With pleasure. Can you do it in Spanish!”
“Si!”
And that is why, on a breezy May morn‐
ing in 2024, I found myself standing in front
of the imposing façade of The Cordon Bleu
Culinary Institute in Miraflores, one of the
most elegant sections of Lima. Upon relin‐
quishing my ID, climbing a flight of stairs
and entering the imposing building, I was
greeted by a bank of multilingual tele‐
phone operators answering callers from all
over Latin America.

WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 139