As the birthplace of ceviche, Peru just couldn’t stand by and let another Latin American country hold the Guinness World Record for the largest dish ever made.

Mexico, one of many countries that have adopted and changed the ancient Peruvian dish of fresh fish cooked by acidic Peruvian Lemon juices with chopped chilli and onion, had in 2005 beaten the previous Peruvian record with a huge 4.5 tonnes of ceviche, also spelled as seviche and cebiche.

Peruvian chefs got together in the port city of Callao, home of fishing fleets and countless cevicherías, to bring the record home. With with almost seven tonnes of filleted fish, chopped onions, chilli and squeezed lemons, they succeeded – creating the biggest ceviche in the world.

A total of 450 students and chefs participated in the event organised by the Regional Government of Callao and an association of fish and seafood restaurateurs. They were able to prepare 6.8 tonnes – a little over two tonnes more than the Mexican record of 4.5 tonnes which in turn had beaten the previous Peruvian held record of 4.1 tonnes. It is hoped that the record holds out longer this time.

The representative sent by Guinness World Records, Carlos Martínez, verified each step of the process from fish filleting to juice squeezing to the final weigh in.

Weighed in portions, the delicious ceviche was handed out free to the more than five thousand people attending the Miguel Grau Colosseum in Callao. I, of course, was first in line.

Regional President of Callao Alex Kouri Boumachar, proudly announced to the world;

“We want to say to all the cities of the world not to bother trying to beat Callao, we will always beat the records. We will protect the prestige of our country in the preparation of our national dish, the ceviche”.

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Tags: callao, ceviche, guinness world record, mexico