Organized by Biz! USA - Peru & Americas and sponsored by the Embassy
of Peru in Turkey and Peru Trade Office in Istanbul - PROMPERÚ
«Quinoa, the Golden Grain of the Incas» achieved its
goal of promoting Peruvian cuisine in Istanbul, Turkey
Seated (left to right): Ambassador of Peru in Turkey, Jorge Abarca del Carpio; chefs Rosita Robles, Roberto
Segura, Javier Flórez and Marita Lynn. Standing (left to right)
right):: Consul Ad Honorem of Peru in Istanbul, Jak Hayim;
Director of Biz! USA - Peru & Americas, Heidi Castrillón; and Commercial Attache of Peru Trade Office in Istanbul,
Fernando Albareda.
Istanbul, TURKEY, May 3nd - The gastronomic event "Quinoa, the Golden Grain of the Incas",
organized by Biz! USA - Peru & Americas and sponsored by the Embassy of Peru in Turkey and
Peru Trade Office (OCEX) in Istanbul - PROMPERÚ, ended with great success in the city of Istanbul,
Republic of Turkey. There were three days filled with Peruvian flavor, ancestral knowledge and productive
inclusion, in which four Peruvian chefs residing in Miami, New York, New Jersey (USA) and Dubai (UAE)
combined their knowledge and surprised Latin American diplomats and European business leaders, as
well as Turkish chefs and gourmet food critics with the most exquisite preparations of Peruvian quinoa.
Important Turkish media like newspapers and television channels, tourism and gastronom y magazines,
news agencies, diplomatic press and
digital media, all attended the
opening night of "Quinoa, the Golden
Grain of the Incas", at The Sofa Hotel
in Nisantasi (elegant shopping and
residential area on the European side
of Istanbul) on April 28th. There were
also two-day training workshops with
audience participation and interaction
at CityCooks culinary school in the
district of Besiktas on Tuesday, the
29th. Attendees had the pleasure to
visit Macrocenter gastronomic pub
and the Kanyon Shopping Mall which
is the most luxurious shopping center
in Europe and located in the business
district of Levent, on Wednesday,
April 30th.
Roberto Segura, chef at the upscale
restaurant The Act in Shangri-la
Hotel Dubai (UAE), and winner of
"The Best Experimental Venue" at
the BBC Good Food Middle East
Awards 2013, delighted the select
audience accompanied by the
gourmet chef Marita Lynn, expert in
eco-friendly catering and graduate of
the Institute of Culinary Education in
New York. They were joined by
Javier Flórez, chef and owner of the
successful restaurant chain Aromas
del Peru in Miami; and pioneer
Rosita Robles, owner of La Casa de Sahrap Soysal, co-host of "Melek", STAR TV Channel from Turkey,
Rosita in New Jersey, with 26 with chefs Roberto Segura (Restaurant 'The Act', Dubai, UAE) and
Javier Flórez (Restaurant 'Flavours of Peru', Miami, USA).
consecutive years of "Peruvian
cooking" in the United States.
The national chefs prepared various main dishes, desserts and drinks with the highly-valued Andean
grain, which were sampled and approved by the attendees. Chaufa with quinoa, Quinotto a la trufa,
quinoa meatballs, octopus causa with chimichurri quinoa, quinoa and chocolate volcano, quinoa locro,
quinoa gratin with artichokes and shrimp croquettes and chalaquita quinoa with avocado; quinoa
escabeche, quinotto of shrimp soup, crispy quinoa with spicy stuffed shrimp, stuffed quinoa figs, quinoastuffed pepper, quinoa puff pastry, quinoa punch, among other delights, not only motivated the fortunate
guests, but also received an applause from the demanding crowd.
Fernando Albareda del Castillo, Economic Commercial Counselor of Peru in Istanbul, presented
entrepreneurs with the characteristics and diversity of Peruvian exports. He said Peru is one of the best
countries in Latin America to do business in; also for its protection to investors, according to Doing
Business 2014 by the World Bank. He recalled that according to the World Travel Awards Peru holds the
title "Best culinary destination in South America" and our cuisine is on its way to becoming Intangible
Heritage of Humanity, recognition already enjoyed by the traditional cuisine of Mexico, France, and
Japan.
Meanwhile, Jak Hayim, Honorary Consul of Peru in the city of Istanbul, congratulated the four
Peruvian chefs for their flawless performance during the gastronomic workshops and gave them a
certificate of recognition, promising to make arrangements so that the entrepreneurs, investors and
representatives from different sectors of Turkish society "live the experience of Peruvian quinoa". Hayim,
a Turkish citizen, nationalized Spanish, was impressed by the versatility of quinoa, having been also
included in the chef demonstrations in a variety of dishes using traditional Turkish cuisine.
"Quinoa is a real gem and the world needs to know," said Consul Jak Hayim, a confessed admirer of
Peruvian history, culture and cuisine, representing pro-bono the Peruvian State in the city of Istanbul for
over twelve years now. In turn, the Ambassador of Peru in Turkey, Jorge Enrique Abarca del Carpio,
thanked Argencrops Peru and Bora Tarım Ürünleri of Turkey (companies involved in fair-trade Andean
quinoa, cereals, legumes and grains from Peru); as well as Biz! USA- Peru & Americas, for having joined
forces for the presentation of Peruvian quinoa in Istanbul.
Peruvian Quinoa captivated Turkish press
Sahrap Soysal, co-host of "Melek", STAR TV Channel from Turkey, with peruvian chefs
Ambassador Abarca classified the Peruvian presence in Turkey through the event "Quinoa, the Golden
Grain of the Incas" as "a historical presentation; a fact never before seen" in that country. He further
highlighted the permanent presence of media from the Ottoman country during the course of the event,
"attracted no doubt by the celebrity Peruvian cuisine has become internationally", said the diplomat, who
acknowledged the efforts of the national delegation that traveled from Lima, Dubai (UAE), Miami, New
York and New Jersey (USA) to organize and carry out these "three days in Istanbul with the main focus
on industry, trade and Turkish culture," he said.
At all times, Turkish journalists highlighted the excellent image currently projected by Peru before the
international community. Beyond gastronomy, Istanbul's press expressed its satisfaction that in April
Peru, Mexico, Chile and Colombia opened a joint sales organization for the Pacific Alliance in thecity of
Istanbul, in order to present local investors with business opportunities with this trade integration
mechanism, of which the Republic of Turkey State is an observer since June 2013.
In this regard, Ambassador Jorge Abarca recalled that Peru and Turkey have been working since October
2013 to shape a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that will invigorate trade relations between the two
countries. "We have exported Peruvian products to Turkey totaling in $75 million in 2012 and $45 million
between January and September last year. Those numbers will exponentially boost once Peru concludes
negotiations for a free trade agreement with Turkey, the seventeenth biggest economy globally and
seventh in Europe," said the diplomat.
Abarca del Carpio said that Turkey is a highly attractive market for Peru, due to its status as an active
member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an organization that
brings together the world's most developed countries; and for being a member of the G20, the main forum
for discussion of the global economy shaped by the European Union, the seven most industrialized
countries and emerging BRICS bloc nations - Brazil, Russia, India, South Korea and South Africa.
"Our goal, as Diplomatic Mission of Peru in Turkey, is collaborate with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and
Tourism (Mincetur) and Peruvian businessmen to promote and introduce new products such as the
Andean quinoa and maca into the Turkish market. The upcoming signing of a bilateral FTA would reduce
high tariffs charged today on imports of Peruvian quinoa, a situation that makes the shipment of larger
volumes of this nontraditional product to Turkey difficult; although there is demand among investors and
growing consumers," said the ambassador.
Turkey, a potentially attractive market
Meanwhile Heidi Castrillón, organizer of "Quinoa, the Golden Grain of the Incas" and director of
the international magazine Biz! USA Peru & Americas said Peru is experiencing a marked process of
economic, cultural, infrastructure development and social inclusion. "This process allows Peru to look to
the future with optimism and approach the world to share our experiences and ancestral knowledge;
especially in countries of great cultural, tourist and gastronomic richness such as Turkey, a nation of
ancient history, considered the world's greatest outdoor museum. Surely a country with which Peruvians
have much to share," she said.
Castrillón highlighted the initiative of businessman Murat Darga, mathematical engineer from Istanbul
Teknik Üniversitesi and CEO of Turkish company Bora Tarım Ürünleri, for having the vision to
introduce Peruvian quinoa into this country some years ago. "Murat was the first Turkish investor who
believed in Peru and began importing quinoa when no one knew or wanted to risk a dollar for the "golden
grain of the Incas". He was the first to sell it in Istanbul and it cost him years to convince people it was
quintessentially healthy and environmentally friendly; ideal for traditional Turkish cuisine. Murat is a
dreamer and an entrepreneur through and through, a Turkish with a Peruvian heart," she said.
She said that through the initiative "Quinoa, the Golden Grain of the Incas", geographical distances have
been shortened and language and cultural barriers overcome with Turkey, "uniting the two countries
through quinoa and discovering that we are nations with many things in common: ancient cultures,
stunning attractions, internationally renowned cuisines and growing economies. In addition, since 2010
we have resident embassies in Lima and Ankara, and in a few months our governments could sign a
FTA, an instrument that will boost bilateral trade," she said.
"Between January and September 2013, Turkey has purchased products around the world for $187.623
million dollars, and of that figure, it only bought cotton, minerals, oil and fishmeal, and non-traditional
products with a total value U.S. $49 million from Peru. These figures indicate that Turkey is a potentially
attractive market for the high level of imports, but Peru it is not taking advantage because it doesn't have
a FTA with that country; unlike Chile which signed a trade agreement with Turkey over three years and
does 98% of its trade with this country free of duty," said Castrillón.
She noted that Turkey has a young population and a strong and dynamic economy, compared to other
countries in Europe and the Middle East. "In the last 30 years, Turkey has increased its foreign trade
volume from $7 million to 386 million, and it has increased its imports from Chile thanks to the bilateral
FTA signed in 2011. Meanwhile with Colombia no agreements were reached after seven rounds and two
years of negotiations," she added. "Peru begins in May with the second round of negotiations and is
poised to sign a free trade agreement with Turkey, which may present our country more competitive
terms for exports of quinoa, berries, aguaymanto and a variety of non-traditional products to the Turkish
market," she concluded.
Istanbul, TURKEY. May 3, 2014
Communications & PR / BIZ USA-Perú Inc.
Tel. USA: 201.875.0220
For immediate release