While Lima’s chefs continue to pick up prizes for their ground-breaking cuisine, ensuring Peru’s flag is firmly marked on the global foodie map, where do they source the raw materials that go into their award-winning dishes?

One producer renowned for his top-quality organic produce is Alfonso Roda Marrou. After quitting his business administration degree, Alfonso headed to Pachacamac, better known as an archaeological site 30km south of Lima, and set about sowing the seeds to Don Torcuato in the Buenos Aires province. Almost two decades later, Lima’s top kitchens, including Astrid & Gastón-Casa Moreyra, Central and Rafael, as well as the Peruvian capital’s five-star hotels, are snapping-up this organic orchard’s produce on a daily basis.

Alfonso’s passion for the great outdoors began as a child. Weekends were spent at his grandfather’s farm while his grandmother would show him and his siblings a love for nature. “She was a simple person who knew how to look after the land,” he says.

For the rest of this piece please visit Departures.