This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
“The potato was a sacred food for the Incas,” says Manuel Choqque Bravo, in a lilting accent characteristic of Peru’s Andean highlands. “For me and my family, it’s been important to rescue this ancestral knowledge and these varieties of potatoes.”
Hailing from Huatata, a town near Cusco, Manuel is a fourth-generation farmer, an agricultural engineer and a so-called potato whisperer. Working alongside his family, he manually cross-pollinates the vegetable to breed deeply pigmented varieties with impressive levels of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. He’s cultivated more than 380 distinct hybrid varieties of tuber, including his signature ruby-red, indigo, amethyst and marigold potatoes.
“Today, we have a super potato that has 10 times as many antioxidants as a blueberry, five times as much vitamin C as citrus, high levels of iron and zinc, and two types of proteins,” he says. “We’re breaking the myths about what a potato is or can be. A papa nativa [Peruvian native potato] can be a superfood.”
Manuel’s efforts have earned him the respect of Peru’s culinary elite, with chefs from restaurants such as Central and Mérito (both in Lima) hailing his potatoes. Yet, he didn’t always foresee this life for himself, having first studied law at university before later switching to agricultural engineering. “I was quite young. Then, after all those years of intense scientific learning, I came home because I felt I was missing something. I felt that I had to do something with the potato.”
Today, Manuel also produces a fermented ‘wine’ made from oca, another type of tuber commonly referred to as a potato. He began experimenting with potato ‘wines’ in 2013, bottling his first attempts under the brand name Miskioca, and has just launched his second brand, Oxalis, which features red, white and rosé expressions.
Next, Manuel is turning his eye towards cultivating hardier, more resistant varieties of potato in response to the ways in which the Andean countryside is increasingly affected by climate change.
“Years ago, it was the lack of demand we were most concerned about,” he explains, “but now it’s a lack of production due to inconsistent rainfall. At some point, I’m going to have to start breeding hybrids that are resistant to these abrupt changes — droughts, frosts and the like. I feel that’s my calling.”
Where to find them
1. Mérito, Lima
At this compact restaurant, celebrated chef Juan Luis Martínez uses Miguel’s potatoes in dishes such as papa rellena (stuffed potato).
2. MIL, Maras
At Virgilio Martínez’s second outpost in Peru, three varieties of Manuel’s potatoes take centre stage in the Ande Central dish, a play on traditional Andean earthen-oven cooking.
3. La Niña, Lima
Located in trendy Miraflores, La Niña has three varieties of Manuel’s fermented potato ‘wine’ on the menu.
Visits with Manuel Choqque Bravo can be arranged via tour operator Peru Well Served.
Published in Issue 24 (summer 2024) of Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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