Author Chris Moss of The Telegraph says “I’d never have thought cows’ hearts could look so appetising. The meat was rich, textured like tongue and a bit chewy. The overboiled spuds reminded me of childhood Sunday dinners. The glass of chicha morada, a purple corn beverage, was comforting, like cough mixture. The venue, El Tio Mario – Uncle Mario’s – was an upmarket canteen, functional, family oriented, the décor just a bit too orange.

In fact, anticuchos – cows’ hearts – are a classic of Peruvian cuisine, and have their aficionados. But my delight was contrastive. Following a week in Lima I was midriff-swellingly sated on fine dining. After a glut of refined, sometimes rarefied, lunches and dinners, a plate of offal was both comfort food and penance.