Many Inca dishes still are cooked just like centuries years ago, good examples are carapulca and pachamanca.
During the Spanish conquest starting in 1521, many culinary techniques and ingredients were introduced, such as olives, grapes, dairy products, beef, chicken, and rice. They brought Arab and Moorish influences and they brought African slaves, of whom many worked in the cuisines of the noble and the wealthy. Over the years the African influence proved essential to Peruvian culture, particularly regarding music and cuisine. They created the most wonderful dishes from poor discarded ingredients. This was an additional step to the Creole cuisine as we know it nowadays. Examples of signature dishes are: Anticuchos, Tacu Tacu, Papa a la Huancaina, Causa and, Ají de Gallina.