IN STEREO

[My European friends] liked our culture a lot. When they proposed that I open this business, I was encouraged. That’s what they gave me: the understanding that they liked our culture. They talked to me about food more than anything. Back in that time, it was different here. We were not very keen to consume new [foods] in case they came with preservatives and things. They had already had that experience and they saw that it was bad. So they came here and still consumed as naturally as possible, and that is what they had discovered. They told me that the desire of the tourists who come here is to eat our food, because we do it a lot more naturally. [Our success] was also thanks to the food that my wife [Teresa] made. At that time, the mother-in-law was still with us, who knew a lot about food. She was the basis of all the food here in the restaurant.

The seasoning was somewhat richer, fuller. She gave us some secrets that only Teresa knew. I learned little by little. I go and do the shopping here in the city. I go and interact with the stallholders. I know how to speak Quechua and I love Quechua. I come from a family that never spoke Quechua, but in another family where I lived, I learned Quechua easily. So with the stallholders, we speak in Quechua. I look for products that are as healthy as possible, that are not chemically processed or produced. What I do is keep an eye on those people who do not bring in quantity. I usually buy from these people. Sometimes they bring it for family, for their children who are studying here, and they bring a little to trade. So I have some stallholders I go to, and they bring it to me exactly. They already know me and what they bring is as healthy as possible. – Jacinto