Marita Lynn’s Peruvian heritage shows through in every one of her dishes. Lynn moved to the United States from Lima, Peru, when she was 20, but it took her a little while to realize her heart was in the kitchen. “I grew up in a family of women cooks, and I wanted to continue sharing the Peruvian flavors that I grew up with,” she said.
However, the spark didn’t light until after she had worked in the corporate world for several years. Lynn always knew she wanted to start her own business, so she took the plunge, went to culinary school, and opened a restaurant.
The Start of My Kitchen Intuition
Eventually, the chef shifted her focus to growing the catering and culinary teaching aspects of her business, so she no longer runs the restaurant. Instead, she travels to teach culinary classes in different parts of the world and is the owner of My Kitchen Intuition, which offers private dinners, cooking classes, and nutritional coaching.
Lynn recently returned from teaching classes in France. “I’m [teaching] in Europe a lot right now,” she said. “I’m traveling, cooking, teaching people about Peruvian cuisine and its flavor and how to use their intuition in the kitchen and lose their fear to step into the kitchen.”
Peruvian cuisine pulls from influence all over the world. “It’s a melting pot,” Lynn says. The authentic Peruvian influence from the Andes Mountains has blended with Spanish, African, Italian, and Japanese cuisines—to name a few—giving the dishes a little bit of something from everywhere.
Letting Life Happen
When it comes to following her culinary path, Lynn says it’s important to go where life takes her and not necessarily the route she planned. “I just have to let life happen,” she said. “I opened a restaurant then closed it. I did all kinds of things, and I don’t think those experiences were wasted because it helped me to be where I am right now.”
