Guinea Pig Food Festival Peru

At the guinea pig festival of huacho in peru people dress the furry rodents in cute costumes before cooking and eating them as part of the celebration contact about.

Guinea pig food festival peru. In fact an estimated 65 million guinea pigs are consumed annually in peru. Media caption inside a guinea pig farm. They are served pretty much as a fish would be served often only the intestines are removed. Diego oka executive chef at la mar gaston acurio s miami restaurant served up guinea pig at the restaurant for peruvian independence day.

A banner promoting helado de cuy or guinea pig ice cream is put up in quito ecuador the rodents are a traditional hot dish in countries like colombia peru and bolivia. Cuy dishes form part of the novoandina new andean cuisine movement but most regions in peru will have their own recipe. Guinea pig festival in peru the one day festival includes an animal show and a food and fashion contest which features the guinea pig native to the andes advertisement. There s now even an annual festival in the town of huacho where guinea pigs are dressed up and judged in various categories including fattest and best dressed there s even a fashion show.

Cuy guinea pig lomo saltado ají de gallina and papa a la huancaína. Hundreds of stands line up and there s food as far as the eye can see and as far as the nose can smell. That s a lot of guinea pig. On the second friday of october the country celebrates national guinea pig day.

These dishes present not only a wide range of tastes but also peru s geographical regions. You ll see the classics. The peruvian guinea pig dish cuy is mostly served on special occasions rather than as a meal eaten regularly but is readily available for adventurous tourists to try in restaurants or at different food stalls. Peruvians even declared a national holiday every second friday in october to celebrate the guinea pig.

Guinea pig cuy is a delicacy that is very typically associated with typical peruvian cuisine but it is also eaten throughout other countries of south america such as ecuador colombia and bolivia. Eating cuy is such a tradition in fact an estimated 65 million guinea pigs are consumed annually in peru that there are festivals celebrating the humble beast with contests for the best dressed largest and of course best tasting guinea pig. Also there are local festivals which are even more important. Today this tiny animal has a special day on the list of national holidays in peru.

Between the period of july and november many villages and cities across the country commemorate guinea pigs.