Love and Ceviche: Famous Matriarch Passes Along a Delicious Tradition
June 10, 2016 - Take fresh fish, soak it in the juices of onion and lime, and what do you get? Ceviche (seviche), a traditional Latin American dish. But for Julia Ramos and her family, love is an added ingredient. Ramos, 85, has been making the dish for 60 years. She started selling ceviche in her 20s on the beach in Peru. Her dish became so famous that President Manuel A. Odría would invite her to prepare it for him in his palace. She still cooks to this day, but her family is helping to care for her and to carry on the tradition, running the restaurant Doña Julia.
Read more about ceviche and its origins on National Geographic's The Plate.
Jorge Ruiz Ramos:
The taste of ceviche is absolutely delicious. You cannot compare it to anything else.
This is our flagship product, not only in Chorrillos, but throughout Peru.
Good limes from the North. Good onions from Arequipa. And good, fresh fish.
Vendor:
17.
Jorge Ruiz Ramos:
You told me 16! You see? You told me 16 then went up to 17.
Give me an octopus. Octopus, for ceviche.
Vendor:
How’s your mother?
Jorge Ruiz Ramos:
My mom is ok, but she’s 85 years old. 60 years in this business.
Text:
Julia, now 85, started selling ceviche in her twenties on the beach.
Now her family runs the restaurant.
Jose Ramos:
Today, do you still enjoy cooking?
Julia Ramos:
Yes, I’m still cooking. And I cooked for the president.
Jorge Ruiz Ramos:
Her dedication, the focus and the preparation she has shown, started when she was a little girl, when she was 10 or 11.
My mom became quite popular for her traditional cooking. She didn’t even need a sign.
My mom grew so famous as a chef that even President Odría would send for her so she could cook for him in his palace.
Now we are all dedicated to her. And this art, we have in our blood. Now it is time to reward her, to take care of her, especially because of her age. Taking care of Doña Julia, as they call her.
