For some time now those prestigious gastronomic guides Blue and Michelin have been pointing out Peru as the home of one of the most interesting culinary styles anywhere in the Americas. The food and drink section of the New York Times agrees and has said so on a number of occasions. In other words Peruvian cuisine's well earned prestige is now an open secret.

It is true to say that this inheritance is made up of a set of regional styles and influences from overseas, and also true that -inevitable- the better part of all this culinary wealth is concentrated in the Capital, Lima. Founded by the Spanish in 1535as the "Thrice Crowned City of Kings", Lima was from the beginning the center of the most opulent viceroyalty of South America. Its innumerable fiestas, both sacred and profane, were the reason for great banquets as well as giving rise to a vast and varied popular cuisine.

It is also worth remembering that the viceregal capital was not built just anywhere. The Europeans founded their city in one of the richest areas of the Inca Empire. Lima is the only oasis on the desert coast which contains four important rivers and centuries before the conquest it already had a sizeable population, as well as being famed for its hundreds of sacred pyramids and, above all, the oracle at Pachacamac where, they say, the Inca Emperor himself would come from Cusco to seek advice.

It is easy, then, to imagine Lima, with its large fertile valley and the soothing presence of the sea, as a place where many foodstuffs and splendid dishes could be found from earliest times. The arrival of the conquistadors increased the number of dishes considerably. In addition to the existing plants, fish and animals, the Spanish brought new seeds and, especially, cattle, pigs, sheep and domestic fowl. Ingredients from both sides of the Atlantic and methods -especially from Spain- in time created what us known as Creole food, ,the basis of almost all Peruvian cooking.

Waves of immigration in the 19th Century brought gastronomic influences from Italy, China, France, Japan and the Arab world, among others. This was partly due to the Limeños' adventurous nature when it comes to tasty things to eat, but also in part of the generous ocean which bathes Peru's 1,900 miles of coast and the microclimates that allow all sorts of crops to grow at all times of the year. Many dishes of foreign origin soon became part of Peru's domestic heritage and Lima, in addition to its immense repertoire of Creole dishes, has an abundance of restaurants dedicated to other culinary traditions -and all of them are first class.

FIRST SEASON: FISH AND SEAFOOD
Today's Peruvian cuisine is, to a considerable extent, a triumph of the Pacific Ocean. There are easily more than a hundred dishes based on fish and other seafood. White-fleshed flounder, sea bass and corvine, smooth hound, silverside and ruff, octopus, squid, sea urchin, prawns, clams and mussels can be had just out of the water in the form of cebiche. Other species not normally eaten raw include crab, shrimp, tuna, bonito, swordfish, gruntfish, mullet, other shellfish, edible seaweed and sea turtle.

The restaurant is on a terrace overlooking the sea. An almost autumnal sun glitters on the Bay of Miraflores and bathes our table. Cebiche makes an excellent start, a fresh, white fish in cubes resting amongst lemon juice, a little onion, chili, and garnished with corn and lettuce. After that, a causa, an exquisite mixture of potato, crab meat, crayfish, avocado and just a touch of mayonnaise. We also have a tiradito, fillets of flounder in olive oil and lemon accompanied by four types of chili sauce: yellow chili, red hot chili, green hot chili and limo chili, almost white in color. And now for the main course -Peruvian gruntfish "a la chorrillana", the delicate meat of the fish complemented by onion and tomato and a portion of perfectly cooked rice.

SECOND SEASON: CHINESE
Chinese food in Peru goes back 150 years. The first Chinese immigrants came as seasonal laborers on the coastal farms and cooked for their own consumption. Shortly afterwards, freed from servitude they opened small food stalls from which arose, years later, the magnificent and numerous restaurants (known to Peruvian as chifas). Today Chinese food, still absolutely authentic, is an everyday part of Peruvian life.

Paper lanterns in gold and red, Chinese calligraphy and the inevitable images of Buddha and Christ. We are in a chifa. All the dishes are served at the same time except the main dish. The table is a riot of colors, dim sum; siu may, a for of steamed raviolis stuffed with chopped pork; ja-cao, prawn tails wrapped in rice pastry; siu-can, fried and also stuffed with prawn. And then there are the sauces: lemon with seven flavors; joy-sin or plum sauce; tamarind; sillao. On the other hand pac-choy; ju-lan-tao and other stir-fried vegetables, gigantic Chinese mushrooms filled with who knows what marvelous stuffing and a dish of prawns in a white sauce with crispy noodles and nuts in orange sauce. The climax of our feast is a Peking duck. Gold and shiny, placed whole on the table it is first carved into portions, complete with crispy skin, to be wrapped in wheat pancakes and accompanied by joi-sin sauce. That's the first part; the second one consists of the duck stuffing wrapped in cabbage leaves.

THIRD SEASON: THE MEDITERRANEAN
Influences from Spain, Italy, Greece and France go to make up the so-called Mediterranean cuisine. Omnipresent olive oil, fish, shellfish, tomato and aubergine and a decent bottle of wine are the essentials of this delicious and healthy food. Apart from specifically French, Italian or Spanish restaurants which have multiplied in Lima in recent years in a happy confluence of ingredients, seasoning and taste, there are a number of other eateries offering the flavors of the blue Mediterranean.

The restaurant is simple and cheerful. There are paintings on the wall together with an enormous mirror and there is, of course, a superb bar. On our table are portions o tuna with tartar sauce -perfect texture. Then tripe a la niçoise, followed by a choice of escabeches -meat marinated in an Italian style, now an inseparable part of Lima Creole cooking. Partridge first, its delicate meat bathed in the vinegar and onion marinade, followed by flounder a la valenciana, which would merit a round of applause if it weren't for the fact that clapping at table is bad manners. Our Mediterranean trip ends with a shellfish zarzuela, delicious casserole of squid, calico clams and octopus -the flavor of the sea complementing that of the wine.

FOURTH SEASON: CREOLE AT ITS BEST
Whitewashed walls and rustic roofs, colonial paintings and a large chest tell us that we are in a classical Creole house. The anticuchos, skewers of beef heart, meat or swordfish grilled on a bed of coals, tamales, humitas, maize and cheese are tempting Creole appetizers. After that chupe, and heroic broth thickened with potato and cheese and topped with a poached egg and improbably large prawns. Then tacu tacu, based on beans mixed with rice -a sort of risotto- covered by an enormous breaded steak and onion sauce. And there's still more to come. Creamed butter beans as smooth as butter with prawn tails. The culmination is the lomo saltado -stir-fried pieces of beef crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside accompanied with onion, tomato and French fries with a portion of rice. Room for dessert. The choice is almost infinite; you need only to remember that Limeños are often called "Limeños mazamorreros" because of their fondness for that sweet delight mazamorra.