Mamma Llama Peruvian Pop Up: Review

We love finding out about the new and exciting experiences that Bristol has to offer – and there are a number of them out there! One such experience was the recent Peruvian Pop Up at 40 Alfred Place, hosted by the lovely Rebecca Delgado from Mamma Llama.

Founded at the beginning of 2012, Mamma Llama is the only UK mobile caterer specialising in Peruvian food. Rebecca plans on catering at festivals and various pop up events – and is also available for private bookings.

With many years of experience in the food industry – including having run a restaurant in Guatemala – Rebecca spent the last three years trying, tasting and cooking her way around the Americas before coming back to the UK to both give birth and set up Mamma Llama at the same time – a brave lady!

At the event we attended, we were lucky enough to be seated with a Peruvian guy, whose Russian girlfriend had found out about Mamma Llama online and booked them both a place. The evening as a whole was a great experience – but made even more so by his stories and seal of approval, guaranteeing the meal’s authenticity.

The ticket price of £25 per head included a complimentary cocktail on arrival: a Pisco Sour. A variety of brandy, Pisco is named after the Peruvian city from which it originates…despite, our friend from Lima told us, the Chileans trying to pass it off as a national drink of their own! The Pisco itself was served in a small tumbler, and combined with citrus, sugar, Angostura bitters and egg whites to provide us with a drink that was smooth and easy to drink but deceptively strong!

Our three courses began with ceviche, a dish that was described on the menu as being traditional Peruvian, and that our new Peruvian friend told us was eaten as an every day meal back home, using a range of types of fish.

This evening’s was prepared with Cornish caught whiting, marinated in lemon and lime juice. As well as adding flavour, the citrus essentially “cooks” the raw fish – there’s no further cooking time afterwards.

The huge plates of fish were combined with crispy pancetta, shallots, pickled chillies, spring onions and coriander and drizzled with coriander oil…a refreshing and summery dish and very filling – I can understand why it’s eaten as a main course in Central and South America!

 
For our mains, a steaming plate of Adobe de Cerdo: a rich pork tenderloin stew. The meat had obviously been slow cooked for a while, in a sauce of gluten free ale, ginger and aji panca – a mild Peruvian red chilli pepper. Delicious – the meat flaked ridiculously easily under the fork, and the flavours were amazing. Oven baked rice and slices of glazed sweet potato, caramelised slightly on the outside, completed the dish. Our Peruvian friend’s reaction? “Delicious, but too small”!

Dessert came in the form of Suspiro de Limena, literally translated as “the sigh of a woman from Lima” – a classic Peruvian dessert. We were each served small glass containing homemade manjar blanco (a type of caramel, pretty much like dulce de leche), and topped with soft meringue sprinkled with cinnamon. It’s a simple dessert: sweet, creamy and very, very rich – a little TOO sweet for me, but demolished by the others on our table!

Thick, treacly Peruvian coffee was served with Alfajores: small baked biscuits with a flaky, pastry-like consistency and sandwiched together with more manjar blanco. Delicious.

I’m glad we went – Rebecca’s Mamma Llama pop up was a great way to experience something exciting and different that has come to Bristol – I’m definitely keen to head back to another of her events in the future!

To keep up to date with Rebecca’s upcoming plans,visit the Mamma Llama website, or subscribe to updates from her Facebook page.

Please note: this meal was received free of charge, but in no way impacted on our opinion. We were not obliged to write a positive review, and the venue did not see this review before it was put up on the site.

Find Mamma Llama Catering on the Bristol Bites Directory…