Don't Miss the Mistura 2013 Festival in Lima, Peru this September

In just five years, Mistura has gone from attracting 25,000 visitors to half a million people last year, to a million people this year. It is undoubtedly one of the largest and most anticipated events of the year in Lima, a city with a rapidly growing culinary profile. This year's event will be larger than ever, and will take place over ten days, from Sept 6 through Sept 15^th, from 10am to 10pm (although it will stay open an hour longer on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays), on the Costa Verde de Magdalena.

Farmers, cooks, bakers, restaurants, culinary institutes, and chefs from all over Peru will be taking part. The Gran Mercado will be offering produce and products from all of the country's regions (desert coast, jungle, and the Andean mountains and highlands). 20 internationally renowned chefs will also be attending, including Adrián Ducasse, Albert Adrià and Pedro Schiaffino. Algonside them, Peruvian chefs such as Gastón Acurio and Mitsuharu Tsumura will host forums on different culinary topics and judge both the street food and the haute-cuisine the festival participants. The dishes on offer will be organized into twelve ‘Culinary Worlds': Amazonian, Andean, Anticuchos (Marinated beef heart kabobs), Ceviches, Limeño, Chifa & Nikkei (Peruvian-Chinese & Peruvian-Japanese), On the Coals, Sandwiches, Of the South, Northern, Taverns & Bars, Liquids.

This year's theme are marine and lake resources (shellfish, fish, seaweeds, etc), with a focus on culinary inspiration, nutrition, and sustainability. A large aquarium has been constructed on the grounds to showcase marine life, and a dozen short documentaries and an exhibit will focus on whales, who experience their breeding season off the Peruvian coast in September. While bakers will be focusing on Quinua, competitors in the Best Cook category have been asked to present marine-based dishes.

If you're interested in trying dishes from Peru's more avant-guard restaurants, you're in luck- some of the best in Lima will be participating, and offering food at the standard festival prices (which means up to ten times less than the normal price). Some of those which have been recommended thus far by Peru's most famous chef and festival founder Gastón Acurio are the Amazonian Amaz, Gonzalette's spit-roasted meats in the Arequipa style, and Misqychallwa's Andean cebiches. You can get even more tips by downloading the festival's app from their website, which will help you with the location, the day's dishes and schedule, and gets you recommendations, rankings, and photos from other participants vía facebook.

Outdoor concerts will bring the festival to a close each day, with musicians including international icon Eva Ayllón. It all ends with a large party and samplings of Peruvian sweets.