By Matthew Cavazos
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – A 25-year culinary exploration thousands of miles away is now documented in the book, Eating Peru: A Gastronomic Journey.
Written by Dr. Robert C. Bradley, associate dean of the UTRGV Honors College and associate professor for the School of Art and Design, the book is about his research into Peru’s unique geography and its many different ecosystems, all ingredients found throughout the country that contributed to its unique food culture today.
“There are a lot of ecosystems. There is a strip of coastal desert about 50 miles wide until you get to the second-largest mountain range in the world, with many peaks that go up to 20,000 feet,” he said. “On the other side, you have cloud forest. And you keep going down and hit the lungs of the world – the Amazon rainforest.”
That geography mixed with Peru’s rich cultural history has led to the development of its increasingly studied and popular cuisine, making it a valued destination for foodies from around the world. According to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Peru is home to four of the top 50 and two of the top 10 restaurants in the world.
“It’s not Paris, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, or Rome. This is Lima,” Bradley said. “For them to have four of the top 50 is telling you something. Peruvian food is that remarkable, given its long pre-Columbian history and the fact that the geography is so special. All of that applies to making the cuisine diverse and exotic.”
EXPANDING HORIZONS THROUGH TRAVEL
Bradley’s passion for food began when he was a child, growing up in a predominantly Italian neighborhood in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where, according to Bradley, one of the best pizza places in the United States was just two blocks away.
Then he took a job at the Robert Mondavi Winery, working as a representative, selling wine to restaurants in and around New York City.
After four years, he had a change of heart. Archaeology was calling. So, he went back to school and earned a master’s degree in Art History and Archaeology from Columbia University.
“I started to focus on Peru because of my advisor,” Bradley said. “She told me to travel to this very remote region because no one had written about it.”
One plane trip and 3,700 miles later, Bradley found himself in Lima. He didn’t speak any Spanish, so there he was. On the coast of Peru. In a very unfamiliar place indeed. Stunned by it all.
Still, a hunger-driven Bradley trusted his eyes and his foodie instincts as he walked into a crowded restaurant and placed his order.
“I remember being immediately struck by the fact that the food was so good,” Bradley said. “I’d never had seafood like this in my life.”
Bradley returned to the United States from his South American adventure and completed his Ph.D. in Art History and Archaeology at Columbia.
Over the years, Peru became a common destination in Bradley’s travel plans, and he visited countless times to learn more about the history of Peruvian cuisine.
In the fall 2009, Bradley arrived in South Texas to work at UTRGV legacy institution UT Pan American as an associate professor of pre-Columbian art. That spring, he created a study abroad opportunity for UTPA students to travel to Peru.
Since then, he has taken a class of students almost every summer to study Incan history and culture, relishing every opportunity to share his love of Peru with his students.
“We help create memories on our study abroad trips that will last forever,” he said. “We immerse ourselves in the country, in the history, in the culture. And we definitely eat Peru.”
To learn more about UTRGV’s study abroad trip in Peru visit the UTRGV Honors College website.
For a related story about a study abroad trip to Peru, visit: UTRGV students explore Peru for study abroad summer 2023.
Eating Peru: A Gastronomic Journey is available online through the University of Oklahoma Press.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.
