The Potato Pioneer: Manuel Choqque of Huatata

2-hour experience with the master farmer and agricultural engineer: Manuel Choqque 

The Potato Pioneer: Manuel Choqque of Huatata | 2-hour experience with the master farmer and agricultural engineer: Manuel Choqque | 

On the day of your experience, you’ll journey via private transfer to Huatata, a town in the suburbs of Chinchero. Located high in the Andes, it’ll take 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach Huatata from the city of Cusco and 45 minutes from Urubamba in the Sacred Valley.

The experience takes place in the garden of Manuel’s home in Huatata, 3,740 meters above sea level. A fourth-generation farmer, Manuel was born in Huatata with a natural talent for agriculture. As he grew, it was that skill that secured him a place at Lima’s prestigious Universidad Agraria, where he studied agricultural engineering.

After his degree, Manuel returned to Huatata to run the family farming business and apply his knowledge to improving the genetics of native potatoes known as ocas and mashuas using natural methods. Manuel’s interest in potatoes soon expanded beyond ocas and mashuas to ancestral potato varieties, products from Inca and pre-Inca cultures that were no longer being used.

Fast forward to today, and Manuel has more than 380 varieties of native potatoes, which he improves by imitating bees with manual cross-pollination. This delicate process involves removing the pollen from one potato flower and sprinkling it onto the flower of another variety. Manuel’s inventiveness achieves tubers with bright, intensified colors such as blue, purple, and red while enhancing the nutritional properties, textures, and flavors too. Such agricultural prowess caught the eye of Virgilio Martinez, the renowned Peruvian chef of Central fame – who sought out Manuel for his unrivaled knowledge of potatoes and tubers. 

Taking a seat at a large U-shaped table in Manuel’s Garden, this unmissable insight into his pioneering agricultural work begins with a 25-minute introductory talk from Manuel. He’ll start by explaining what pre-Inca and Inca agriculture practices were like and how this inspired him to continue the family legacy and propel the global perception of Peruvian potatoes into a premium product.

Manuel will then explain the scientific properties of these native tubers and show you examples of how he has cultivated the potatoes to obtain amazing pigments of deep red, blue, yellow, and purple – without the use of any chemicals – as well as improving their nutritional qualities. You’ll be able to sample the different types of freshly harvested potatoes cooked in a ‘huatia’, which is a traditional way of cooking in the Andes using the heat of the earth in an underground oven. Enjoy this delicious snack seasoned only with salt from the Maras salt pans.

Next, you’ll be shown Manuel’s latest invention: a wine made from the ocas and mashuas tubers. You’ll have the chance to sample (and purchase) the different kinds of wine, including red, white, and sparkling, which are sold in Lima’s award-winning restaurants: the world-renowned Central Restaurant and the award-winning Maido.    

The final part of the experience will be a taste of a delicious ‘Causa Peruana’ (a cold potato dish) made from different varieties of Manuel’s potatoes and mixed with delicious, melted cheese.

After this exceptional foodie experience has ended, you’ll have the chance to purchase a bottle of Manuel’s organic wine, before being taken back to your hotel via private transfer or onto your next activity of the day.