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Ley Beng Lung
“Those times, when a customer wanted a duck, we killed it immediately. The kitchen was next to the poultry yard. Nothing was refrigerated. Refrigerators didn’t exist in those days”
In 1930, 69 years ago. Mr. Enrique Ley arrived in Lima. His real name is Ley Beng Lung, which mean’s “chatter” or “speaker”. Before marrying Irma Kutay Santa Maria, of Chinese origin, he had to be baptized and was named Enrique Ley.
His documents state that he was born in 1916, but he says he was really born in 1914, and is proud of being eighty-five years old. The truth is that he was fourteen years old when he first arrived in Lima, from the Cantonese city of Hoi Fen. As many other immigrants, he came to work with relatives already settled in Peru. His uncles owned an important “chifa” in Lima, the Ton Po, in Capon Street. Since then, cooking became his profession. He started as a floor cleaner at the Ton Po. A year later, he worked as a waiter and then was promoted to vegetable chopper and peeler. “I had to obey the cooks’ orders, peeling and chopping vegetables. I was eager to learn and liked to observe what they were doing”, he tells us. Moreover, he read Chinese books with cooking recipes and thus, was well informed about the latest gastronomic news in his country. Thanks to his eagerness in 1946 he became a master: he was able to prepare banquets, which is the highest privilege for a Chinese cook.
In 1966 we worked as a cook at the Lay Wa “chifa”, in Pueblo Libre, and by 1968 he had his own business at Lima downtown, the Tai Ti (“big land”), on 867 Miró quesada Street.
Despite his age, Mr.Ley cooks at home. His old customers who still miss his Lagoon Duck or the unforgettable Kay Kin (chicken roll) dishes continue visiting him. As a good gastronomic connoisseur, he prefers simple cooking: “In my opinion there is nothing better and tastier than the traditional salty fish”, he remarks.
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