Cuy Tradition

Cuy was domesticated in the Andes at least three thousand years ago and has been the household meat animal ever since - kept in kitchens and yards, fed on kitchen scraps and alfalfa, requiring no pasture, and reserved for occasions: a birth, a wedding, a patron festival, an important visitor. It is high in protein and low in fat, and it remains a genuinely significant food in the highland economy. Preparations vary by region: cuy al horno roasted whole in Cusco and Cajamarca, cuy chactado in Arequipa where it is flattened under a stone and fried, cuy colorado in Ayacucho with ají panca. It arrives whole, head and feet attached, which is what visitors react to, and is eaten with the hands. It also appears in the famous colonial Last Supper painting in Cusco cathedral, where a cuy lies on the table.

What you actually see

• The whole animal - served head and feet attached, eaten with the hands.
• The regional styles - roasted in Cusco, flattened and fried in Arequipa.
• The occasion food - kept for festivals, weddings and important guests.
• The Cusco painting - a cuy on the table in the cathedral's Last Supper.

When to go

Year-round, but it is festival food and appears most at patron days and family celebrations. Order in advance at some quintas - it takes time to cook.

Honest expectations

Being served a whole animal with its head disturbs some visitors - decide before ordering. There is relatively little meat for the price, and a lot of small bones. It is expensive compared with chicken or beef dishes. Eaten with hands, not cutlery.

Nearby

Cusco's Tipón, Arequipa's picanterías and Cajamarca's quintas are all known for it.