Día de la Cocina y Gastronomía Peruana

On the second Sunday of every September, Peru marks the Día de la Cocina y Gastronomía Peruana, a national day dedicated to recognising the importance and value of the country's cuisine to its identity. Rather than centring on a single city or venue, the celebration plays out nationwide, with restaurants, markets and cultural institutions across Peru marking the occasion in their own way.

The day exists as part of a broader, decades-long movement that has helped transform Peruvian food from a source of quiet national pride into an internationally recognised culinary force — one credited with elevating cities like Lima onto the global gastronomic map. Special menus, tastings and cultural programming appear at restaurants and food organisations throughout the country, often drawing on the same energy that once fuelled the country's landmark Mistura festival.

For visitors, the day offers a useful, if informal, cue: any early-to-mid September trip to Peru is likely to coincide with heightened culinary programming and a particularly good moment to explore the country's regional specialities, wherever in Peru you happen to be.