MIL
My trip to Peru included a few days exploring the Sacred Valley and the rich culture of its people. I visited many of the archeological sites including the famed Machu Picchu beyond the valley. I also spent a day with a private cab driver who drove around to the Maras Salt Mines, Chinchero, and the ruins at Moray. It was at Moray, over 11,000 feet above sea level, that I would also have the opportunity to enjoy one of the most unique meals I have ever had.
A view from the dining room at MIL. The ruins of Moray are just below.
Chef Virgilio Martinez Veliz is best known for Central, his famous restaurant in Lima. However, if you caught the Netflix Chef’s Table episode featuring Chef Veliz, you know that he also does a lot of research across Peru and the Andean mountain range, testing our new ingredients and how they can be used. It is at Moray that his team does a lot of its research.
The “Mater Research Area” exploring uses for local Andean ingredients
Dining at MIL begins with a tour of the Mater Research area. One of the facility’s researchers takes you around and shows how the research lab is exploring thousands of ingredients that can be found in the mountains. It’s a big task, as the Andean mountains contain a vast array of plant and wildlife (a few thousand varieties of potatoes alone). As someone who loves food for more than just its flavor, it was amazing to see just how much diversity there is even in just one part of the world.
After the tour we were shown to the main dining room which holds about ten tables. The dining room windows open up to the cool mountain breezes and, if you were stand up, a view overlooking the ruins of Moray.
MIL serves a set tasting menu with about a dozen courses. Similar to its sister restaurant, Central, the MIL menu is themed around specific ingredients or regions that can be found in Peru and the Andean mountains. Local sourcing is a common goal of many restaurants nowadays, but MIL takes this to an extreme. Everything served at MIL is found in the mountains at a minimum elevation of 10,000 feet. Yes, even a typical sea-level ingredient like salt is sourced from the Maras salt mines at that high elevation.
Here was the menu for our visit which was during the early part of October 2018:
“Preservation” - Freeze-dried potato chuno, corn, wild uchucuta, oca
“Plateau” - Cabuya nectar, lamb, kanijua grain, white quinoa
“Andean Forest” - Lupinus legume, pork belly, avocado, rocoto pepper
“Diversity of Corn” - Piscoronto, chullpi, white corn, queso fresco
“Extreme Altitude” Part 1 - Duck, black quinoa, wheat
“Extreme Altitude” Part 2 - Blue-green algae, greens
“Central Andes” - Potatoes, stems, chaco clay, chincho
“Frozen Cordillera” - Wil muna, tumbo, kjolle
“Huatia of Cacao” - Mashwa, coca leaf, cacao, mucilage
Coffee - Harvested during the full moon
Lunch at MIL was a surreal experience of sorts. I was enjoying a tasting menu crafted by one of the world’s most famous chefs, using ingredients that can only be found in a very limited part of the world, and all the while overlooking a historic archeological site. This was a very unique and challenging meal. When I say challenging, I mean the flavors were quite different from what I am accustomed to. These new tastes forced me outside of my comfort zone and broadened my palate, which are both things that I really enjoy when dining abroad.
The only drawback to MIL is its location; not the site itself, but where it is in relation to other areas you’ll likely want to visit while you’re in the Sacred Valley. But, if you have a couple of hours to spare in the middle of the day, I would highly recommend a meal here. It is just so different, and a special experience.
MIL
Moray, Peru
+51 926 948 088
www.milcentro.pe
