Peruvian food is more than just a cuisine; it's a cultural experience. The emphasis on fresh ingredients and a wide variety of spices used are products of the ancient Inca diet, combined with 500 years of migration from Europe, Africa and Asia.
This culinary history is celebrated in every dish at the Peruvian restaurant, , in Surry Hills, Sydney. In Quechua, the language of the Inca Empire, warike (also spelled "warique") loosely means a hidden place to eat food.
"People know about these [restaurants] by word of mouth and that's kind of how we started," says Luis Guzmán, founder of Warike.
Guzmán moved from Lima to Sydney in 2010 and learned to cook Peruvian food out of necessity. When friends saw photos on Facebook of the dishes he'd cooked, they were eager to try them. This prompted Guzmán to open a small pop-up serving food inspired by Peru's rich history, grand landscapes and native ingredients.
Warike, Surry Hills, Sydney. Source: Warike
He hosted these initial supper clubs in his apartment living room for 10 to 12 guests, mainly family and friends. Word spread fast and by the end of 2019, Guzmán took up a Sunday night pop-up residency at the Peruvian-Japanese fusion restaurant, .
"Looking at the reactions [of customers] when they took the first bite felt good, I thought, 'If we can share that with more people and use it as a means for people to get together, have a good time and enjoy good food then why not?'," he says.
Guzmán hopes to continue telling the origin story of Peru's culinary history at Warike's permanent location on Devonshire St in Surry Hills. The menu features favourite dishes from past supper clubs, but these have been "reinterpreted in a way that's more visually appealing and with better quality ingredients."
Techniques that we use in making this dish come from years of the Peruvian food evolution that started in the Incan times.
To start, Guzmán recommends the 'ceviche clasico' with kingfish, tiger's milk, sweet potato puree, Peruvian corn (chulpe) and white corn.
"Techniques that we use in making this dish come from years of the Peruvian food evolution that started in the Incan times," he explains. "For example, they used to cook the ceviche's with chicha, which is like an Incan corn liquor, instead of the limes which the Spanish brought to Peru."
Ceviche evolved further with Japanese immigration when Peruvians began to adopt Japanese sashimi and sushi techniques. This melding of Japanese and Peruvian cultures gave birth to a new cuisine called Nikkei, which Warike's head chef, Hector Chunga, has mastered after spending one year working as a chef at the Peruvian embassy in Japan.
Warike's Japanese-inspired cold plates. Source: Warike
INTRODUCING NIKKEI
We’re all going to be eating Nikkei this year
Peruvian cuisine is also strongly influenced by African slaves that arrived with the Spanish conquerors in the early 16th century. One of Guzmán's favourite charcoal dishes, anticucho, is a product of their creativity. The slaves salvaged tender parts of meaty leftovers from their Spanish rulers and cooked them as kebabs over the fire. They adopted this technique from the Incas and it's now replicated in kitchens and on street-sides across the country.
Guzmán has been amazed by how receptive Sydneysiders have been to Peruvian flavours and ingredients, and he's honoured to be a part of Australia's own food evolution.
"Peruvian food is so diverse and I think that's why it's so accepted," he says. "There's something for everyone."
Surry Hills, NSW
Tuesday: 5:30pm-10pm
Wednesday-Thursday: 5pm-10:00pm
Friday: 5:pm-11pm
Saturday: 12pm-2:30pm; 5pm-11pm
