What this Award means for Dailima

We live in times shaped by tension—by forces set against one another. As a country shaped by colonialism, Peru has rarely known anything else. There have been tensions between conquistadors and Indigenous peoples, between ethnic groups and social classes, tensions based on gender, political beliefs, nationality, profession, and sexual orientation. Throughout our history, we have too often found reasons to stand against one another, and too rarely reasons to come together and celebrate the milestones of our country.

Now, a Peruvian restaurant, Central, has officially been named the best in the world, further cementing the growing international reputation of Peruvian cuisine. This recognition holds particular significance for us at Dailima for two reasons.

For us, food and drink are essential to our cultural identity because they bring together so many elements of Peru: the richness of our land expressed through its products, the creativity of its people in combining these flavors with precision and intention, craftsmanship and food-processing techniques passed down through generations, and the deeply Peruvian tradition of centering social interaction around a shared meal. More than most, the team at Central strives to embody Peru in its menu, with dishes inspired both visually and in flavor by the country’s ecosystems. Through masterful orchestration, they succeed in condensing the full experience of Peru’s biodiversity onto a single palate, rather than relying on borrowed dishes from cuisines traditionally labeled as “gourmet.”

In addition, the restaurant is run jointly by the chef and his wife, with strong support from his sister. As a project deeply committed to empowering women, and as individuals who have witnessed firsthand the challenges women face in patriarchal societies, we admire and celebrate the example set by these women in a field as male-dominated as gastronomy.

Ultimately, regardless of their scale or recognition, Central and many other large and small names around the world preserve and honor an essential part of Peru’s cultural identity. Recently recognized as “Ambassadors of Peruvian Gastronomy 2023” in Germany, Dailima strives to do the same. We are proud to contribute to this broader mission: to share our rich traditions beyond our borders—so they can be experienced and celebrated, and to create a nexus, a point of connection and community, in times defined by division.