Traditional Holy Week Dishes at the Qosqo Mijuy Food Fair in Cusco

It’s been announced that this year’s Qosqo Mijuy (Cusco Eats) Food Fair will take place April 2nd and 3rd. The fair will be divided into two sections, one for prepared dishes and one for a farmer’s market called ‘Leading the Change’ offering reduced-price, locally-grown produce from the Sacred Valley as well as seafood. The aim of the fair is to bolster fading Holy Week culinary traditions in Cusco, which involve preparing 12 types of dishes. This, in part, is why they offer cheaper options during a time when seafood prices skyrocket. Even though it typically takes place during the very busy Holy Week, the fair is overwhelmingly popular- in previous years, it’s attracted more than 7,000 people each day. These aren’t Mistura numbers, but for a mid-size event in a provincial city, it’s pretty great! 

This year’s theme is seafood, with national chefs from Puno, Tacna, Arequipa, Ica, and of course, Cusco, offering their versions of traditional Peruvian food. (Seafood is sure to be a well-receivedchoice, as trout ceviche, cylinder-smoked trout, and crawfish chowder were favored items in last year’s fair.) The scope of this year’s event will be a little wider than usual, in that international chefs from Colombia, Mexico and Bolivia will also take part and offer dishes from their country of origin.

If you’d like to stop by the fair and sample a few dishes, you’ll find it inside the Jardín de Cerveza event grounds. Try and go as a group, since the dishes are often large; by spreading it out among various people you’ll be able to sample more. Try the stewed Andean lupin, as this superfood-in-the-making contains more vegetable protein than soy, or opt for the spicy fish escabeche, corn soup, or yuyo soup. For dessert, consider the loquat, fig, or peach candies. Even if you end up just browsing the stalls, enjoy soaking up the local flavors of the Imperial City of the Incas!