about pica peru

BEHIND OUR DOORS

ABOUT US

Pica Peru Culinary Vacations was born of a love for both Peruvian food and travel. US food and travel writer Kazia Jankowski was on an extended Peru trip, working on a travel guidebook, when she crossed paths with Peruvians Sandra and Norma Gamio. The three participated in a professional Peruvian culinary tour. Before their flavorful journey was over, they realized that the world needed to have a similar opportunity to experience Peru's cuisine. They created Pica Peru's cooking vacations with the investigative eye of a professional journalist and filled them with a local's love and knowledge of Peruvian food.

All Pica Peru's culinary vacations are personally facilitated by Norma and Sandra Gamio, who handle the company’s on-site Peru logistics, including tour leading, client communications, and vacation planning. The Peruvian cooking classes are taught by dynamic, professional chefs. Kazia works from the US managing Pica Peru’s marketing and communciations. The company’s personalized attention, combined with Peru's cuisine and rich culture, ensures an unforgettable Peruvian cooking vacation - full of colorful photos, unique flavors, and authentic Peruvian recipes to bring back to your table.

OUR TEAM

Kazia's love of Hispanic cultures and food first took her to culinary school in Spain and then into the kitchen of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. She now works as a food writer and restaurant critic for Denver's 5280 Magazine and recently took a nine-month Peru trip to write the second edition of the top-selling guidebook Moon Peru.

When Sandra returned to her native Peru in 1999, she'd been away for eight years. Living in Amsterdam, attending Colorado College, studying art in Italy, and investigating restaurants in Chicago left her with an incurable itch for travel and food. So in 2006, she left a high-powered corporate job to organize and lead Peruvian food and travel press trips for international journalists.

Fifteen years of working in upscale Event Planning, including several years at the Miraflores Park Hotel, have honed Norma's professional eye for detail and connected her to an incredible array of hotels, restaurants, and tour operators. Through her, we are able to introduce you to the best Lima restaurants and chefs, as well as the city's finest hotels.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Being the first Peruvian culinary vacations company, Pica Peru's responsibility is two-fold: to create a highly professional Peruvian culinary tour for its clients and to set the tone for the country's culinary tourism industry. Pica Peru focuses on the quality and personal attention of its culinary vacations, giving participants firsthand encounters with Peru's recipes, flavors, and culture. Pica Peru trips start with a series of meals in notable Lima restaurants, where participants get to know the chefs, historical influences, and ingredients that define Peruvian cuisine. Then, when Pica Peru's culinary vacations travel to the countryside and participate in daily Peruvian cooking classes, the stories of Peruvian food and culture come to life. By the time they return home, Pica Peru participants can say they've deep into Peru...simply by eating.