Teresa Izquierdo
Peruvian cook and writer, known as the mother of Peruvian cuisine
Biography
Teresa Izquierdo (Lima, 1934 – Lima, 2011) was a Peruvian cook and writer, affectionately known as the mother of Peruvian food. Through her restaurant El Rincón que No Conoces, in the working-class district of Lince, she became one of the leading champions of traditional coastal criollo cooking.
Born in Lince to humble circumstances, she learned recipes passed down from her grandmother through her mother, a cook from Cañete who was sought after by wealthy Lima households. At around eight she was already running the kitchen of an aristocratic family. She began by selling sweets and gradually mastered criollo dishes such as carapulca. In 1978 she opened her restaurant with only six tables, where she cooked, served and took payment herself. Its fame grew among politicians, businesspeople, artists and journalists, and she published two successful recipe books. She preferred the title guisandera, or home cook, to chef, a choice that reflected her modesty and her mother's example.
Her legacy lives on in the restaurant, which has been run by her daughter, Elena Santos Izquierdo, since her death.
Key contributions
- El Rincón que No Conoces, a Lima restaurant founded in 1978 that brought traditional criollo cooking to a broad public.
- Carapulca, a criollo dish she mastered from an early age and which shaped her cooking.
- Two recipe books that spread Peruvian gastronomy beyond her restaurant.
- Representing Peruvian cuisine on trips abroad.