When he was approached to manage Lima London, Virgilio Martinez’s highly buzzed new Peruvian restaurant in Fitzrovia, Olubunmi Okolosi, formerly the maître d’ at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park, knew little about Peruvian cuisine.

He knew of ceviche, but didn’t realize it was Peruvian. He knew that Nobu started in Peru and was inspired by Peruvian food. He had heard of the Pisco sour as being an iconic bartenders’ drink back in the 80’s/90’s. Yet Peruvian food was not just new to him, but to London. While rumblings about the importance of Peruvian food were penetrating across the food world, the UK had yet to see a tiradito. Before Lima London opened this past July he took an exploratory trip down to Peru. Olubunmi Okolosi is now a convert.

“What I didn’t get is how and why people outside of Latin America didn’t know this!” he exclaimed. “What I love about Peruvian food is the soul and passion. I’m African (Nigerian) heritage and food is incredibly important to us, as it is to my British side and my newly inherited Swedish side. Peruvians, through so many factors including the traditions, terrain and multi-cultures, have taken it to another place.”

Did he have doubts that Peruvian food could work in London?

“Never with Virgilio’s food,” he said. “For me, how Virgilio cooks, is with precision and simplicity. There is a huge skill in that and ultimately it’s how I like to cook myself, especially if I had his knowledge and skills.”

While critical reviews have been stellar, the reaction among clientele has been overwhelmingly positive, with the exception of the occasional Peruvian.

“For Londoners and those who have tried Peruvian food not as frequently as Peruvians it has gone down so well that I think Lima will go beyond a trend and could help Peruvian food go mainstream in London and hopefully the UK,” he said.

Okolosi sees enormous potential in other Peruvian concepts coming to London, especially the chifa, Peru’s iconic Chinese-Peruvian restaurant that can be found on almost every street corner in every part of the country.

“If someone were to do Chinese food how you eat it in Peru and call it Modern Chinese, it would cause the biggest storm yet. I loved Chifa food. I also think London is screaming out for an El Mercado style cevicheria, as well restaurants that do stuff to take away and snacks. I think the market for Peruvian concepts is huge, it just has to be considered and executed correctly.”