They travel through Peru, investigate and collect recipes: how two foreigners seek to revalue the Peruvian desserts of yesteryear

When she tried the sanguito, Michelle Gamardo immediately remembered her Venezuelan coconut majarete. The texture and flavor were similar. The thing is, at the table (and at dessert time) there is a strong connection that unites Latin America. Both she and the Colombian Felipe Garzón, her accomplice in the kitchen, are passionate researchers and have great interest in the gastronomy of the region. This is how they began to give shape to the Pregón de las Once.

Its mission is to revalue the culture and tradition of ancient Peruvian desserts, both from Lima and the regions. “We stop traveling, researching, collecting recipes and information,” says Felipe about the virtual candy store project.

“We are inspired by the recipes and adapt them to our style. The idea is to have this traditional and typical base, at the same time that we choose ingredients that are not used much in pastries and we adapt them to it,” he explains. Regarding Peruvian Sweets Day, which is celebrated on the fourth Saturday of April, we spoke with them.

Michelle is Venezuelan, Felipe is Colombian. Since she was little, she helped her grandmother prepare sweets. After finishing her cooking studies in her native country, she traveled to Peru and, over time, fell in love with our cuisine. He studied cooking and pastry in Bogotá and arrived in Peru when the gastronomic boom was in full swing.

The duo met three years ago, when they were working at Malabar, Pedro Miguel Schiaffino’s memorable restaurant. But it was in 2023 when they began to give shape to the Pregón de las Once. They wanted to start something of their own, that identifies them and shows something different. “We didn’t want to do the same as the best-known pastry shops in Lima (so French-style),” he emphasizes.

The duo is in contact with gastronomic researchers such as Rosario Olivas Weston. But his main source is his travels. They have reached Apurímac and Cusco, Piura and Ica, Andahuaylas and Arequipa where different people – especially families who maintain sweet recipes orally – have helped them by sharing procedures and stories to continue advancing with their project.

“We feel that they are talking about basic things, so to speak, like rice pudding or picaron. When the pastry in Peru is very diverse as are its ingredients. There are very interesting recipes in Ayacucho and Moquegua, which are yet to be discovered,” says the latter. “I have lived in Cusco and I realized the importance of regional gastronomy and the revaluation of its products, as well as the use of seasonal fruits, herbs and plants,” he adds.

Felipe and Michelle have more than one story to tell. In Ayacucho, they went at 3 am to see the preparation of the llipta mazamorra (which contains said plant, special corn from the area and stem ash) and they were amazed. “The flavor, the texture, the aroma… We didn’t expect it to be like this. We try to do it and it is complicated. We had to go to the mountains to collect the herbs,” says the pastry chef at El Pan de la Chola.

They helped them enter a monastery to learn the baking secrets hidden behind bars. In Piura, a woman taught them, along the way, how to prepare chumbeque and mote and pineapple shampoo. On these trips, they have also (re)discovered ingredients to incorporate into their sweets such as pushgay (wild berry, similar to elderberry) and Cajamarca cheeses. Thus, they have created desserts with maca, coca and other varieties of plants.

El Pregón de las Once is still a small workshop so they prepare a weekly dessert that is delivered, upon request, on Saturdays and Sundays. They have already offered crema volteada (the classic version, with chocolate and carob), apple pie, cheese pie (from Cajamarca, Oxapampa or Arequipa) with fig jam, red fruit pie, ranfañote and nougat in their style, picarona pie , as well as lemon pie, tangerine and muña.

Innovation with ingredients is part of their DNA so they are sometimes unsure about public acceptance. However, they say that lately they are more open to other proposals. “One of the last cakes we made was pushgay and coca. We were quite afraid that they wouldn’t buy it. In the end, we were surprised because they did dare to try it and they liked it!” Michelle recalls.

Soon, they plan to extend the order days and offer a fixed menu. Meanwhile, these researchers and inveterate travelers are preparing their next adventure to Moquegua and Tacna. They still have so much to know!