In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month as well as the one year anniversary since launching our Culinary Tastemakers Series, we are thrilled to spotlight the Peruvian Brothers, a food company in Alexandra, Virginia serving up delicious, authentic Peruvian dishes and flavors.
Owned and operated by Giuseppe & Mario Lanzone, the Peruvian Brothers have successfully expanded to restaurants, 4 food trucks, concession stands at stadiums, theatres, zoos, farmer’s markets, and a large-scale catering company serving the greater DMV since their inception 10 years ago. In addition to winning numerous awards, they have also been recognized by the Peruvian Government as official Marca Peru Ambassadors, Avocados from Peru Brand Ambassadors and recognized by the Peruvian Ambassador to the United States as official “Gastro-Diplomats” for their philanthropic support of charity efforts supporting Peruvian development.
The Peruvian Brothers have a special place in SIMPLi’s heart not only because of their Peruvian roots, but also because they were one of the first companies to carry our red and white quinoa! From flavorful dishes to fun community activities (check out their fun alpaca happy hour!), the Peruvian Brothers are incredible ambassadors to Peruvian culture and cuisine, and we are honored that we get to work with them and include them in our spotlight series.
Read on for our full interview with Giuseppe Lanzone, Co-Founder and CEO of Peruvian Brothers!
We love SIMPLi! Working with SIMPLi, we know that we’re getting a great quality product. Not only that, but their quinoa has also been harvested in the best way possible. We use [SIMPLi’s] red and white quinoa [in our dishes].
Can you share a bit about your heritage and how it has influenced your culinary career?
Both my brother and I were born and raised in Peru, so to be able to bring products from Peru at their highest quality is really important to us, because we want to be able to serve the best products we can here in the US.
Can you describe a memorable dish from your childhood that continues to inspire your culinary creations today?
The biggest dish that we grew up eating during family events was Pan Con Chicharron, a pork tenderloin sandwich that we used to get at the markets and eat with our families. [At Peruvian Brothers] we use freshly baked bread with our own recipe, toasted bread (like a French roll), on a bed of sweet potatoes that we’ve first baked, then peeled, then sliced, and then fried. Then comes the chicharron, which is a pork tenderloin that we cook, topped with a salsa criolla, a sauce with thinly sliced onions that are marinated with freshly squeezed lime juice and other spices.
We try to use fresh ingredients whenever we can. For example, when it comes to the lime juice or lemon juice that we use to marinate our quinoa, we make sure that it’s freshly squeezed. We try to keep it simple and let the ingredients dictate the flavors.
Peru is widely known as being one of the culinary capitals in the world. What are some of your favorite restaurants or “best secret food spots” in Lima?
Well, you can ask any Peruvian, and pretty much for everyone, [the best secret food spot] is the food that is cooked at home. For us, our home-cooked meals in Peru are the base for the dishes we cook here in the US, and we like to keep it like that.
When it comes to going out and eating out, any restaurants from our hometown in La Punta are great. We try to go there and not only enjoy the food but support local businesses.
Make sure you try out your recipes with family and friends, and make sure they give you their true opinion! Keep making sure that you stay truthful to your origins and [continue to] bring delicious food from your own country to the streets of the US.
Food has a unique power to connect people across cultures and countries. How do you hope your work contributes to a broader appreciation of Peruvian heritage and culture?
A long time ago, about 10 years ago, the ambassador to the US for Peru called us “gastro-diplomats”. We bring our food [to the US] to showcase what Peru is all about, and our way to do it is through gastronomy. We want you to come and try our food and fall in love with our food, and then maybe in the future when you’re planning a family trip or a solo trip, to make it a destination to go to Peru and actually see and taste what the culture is all about there.
As ambassadors of Peruvian cuisine here in the states, what messages or experiences do you hope to share with your community and customers through your food?
We want everyone to come to our restaurant and not only taste the food but taste the fresh ingredients and the techniques. We want to make sure that we include the different cultures that have come to Peru and have created this beautiful culinary destination that we have right now. Italian, Asian, French, Spanish; different cultures have come to Peru and have made Peru their home, and they’ve combined Peruvian food with their own country’s food, and they’ve made some of the best dishes in the world.
Lastly, for fun – do you have any favorite Peruvian artists or musicians that you love to listen to while cooking? Perhaps a fun playlist?
I usually put on the Top Peruvian Rock Songs on the radio, and that’s the best way to keep things upbeat. Songs that remind us of growing up in Peru!
