Teresa Ocampo

Teresa Ocampo Oliart (Cuzco, October 13, 1931) is a Peruvian chef and writer. She was a pioneer of Peruvian cuisine, and founder and first president of the Peruvian Gastronomic Association. In 2022, she was named by Forbes as one of the most powerful 50 women of Peru.

Biography

María Teresa Carlota Ocampo Oliart was born on 13 October 1931, in the hacienda of the Granja Escuela K’ayra, in the southeast part of the city of Cusco. When she was four years old, her parents, Carlota and Alcides, moved to Lima, the capital of the country, living in the center of the city. Ocampo received her basic education at the Colegio Sagrado Corazón Sophianum. After living in the center of the capital for 15 years, the family moved to Miraflores District. In the new residence, Carlota Oliart began to give home cooking classes 2 times a week to her neighbors. Teresa would assist her mother. Carlota had learned to cook from her mother, and both had studied gastronomy in Europe. The recipes collected by Teresa Ocampo date back to the time of her great-grandmother, María Mercedes Picoaga (1798-1859).

In 1967 she began a new show Su menú con Teresa on Channel 4, a show with a similar format to her previous show, but with the novelty of a section for children. This was sponsored by Astra margarine. She quit in 1968 in protest of the political reforms of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces, returning in 1980. Five years afterwards she produced and directed La cocina de Teresa (Teresa's Kitchen), one of the first independent TV programs, and published recipe collections. One of the most well-known collections is called ¿Qué cocinaré hoy?

In 2011 the Provincial Municipality of Cuzco bestowed on Ocampo the Medal of Honor and she was named Honored Citizen of the City of Cusco. The same year, the Government of Peru bestowed on her the award Order of Merit for Distinguished Services, received in Dallas, where she lives.

She has three sons.

Publications

¿Qué cocinaré hoy? Su majestad el pescado (His Majesty, the Fish)