florida. >> thank you very much, martin. zim don lemon. thank you for watching. make sure gu to cnn.com all night long for the very latest on the crash of flight 214, and, of course, our morning show starts at 4:00 a.m. eastern time with early start and new day at 6:00 a.m. now anthony bordain, spartapart unknown. pefr your has driven men mad for gold, for its magical ancient history. now there's something else drawing outsiders to its hidden mountain valleys. we love the stuff. we obsess about it. gorge on it and fetish on it. i'm talking about chocolate. once a common treat, it's now becoming as nuanced as fine wine, making the pursuit of the raw good stuff all the more difficult. i'm joining that hunt in

remotest peru, but not brl i have reimersed myself in the food scene. ♪

>> i'm in peru with this guy, aaron. >> i was looking -- >> that's funny. >> the world famous restaurant in new york. to look at where chocolate comes from, particularly our chocolate. designer chocolate bar business that eric got me into last year. before we get all indiana jones, we're spending the time in lima. we like the capital city just fine. we are friends here. lima is the cultural hub and culinary capital of the country that has exploded in the last decade with scores of world class chefs, cooks, and restaurants. it has long been considered to be one of the best food scenes in all of south america.

>> one of our friends here is chef restauranture. he is one of the best, most successful chefs in the country. his family is something of a beloved culinary dynasty in peru and a small fishing village about an hour south of lima is where they spend their weekends. >> his mom is like peru's julia childs, james beard rolled into one. >> thank you for having us. >> a caterer, cook book author, beloved icon of peruvian gastronomy. >> to say it's fortunate to enjoy her hospitalalty would be an understatement. >> warm, generous, welcoming beyond belief.

>> we h lunch. >> it sounds like paradise. >> wow. look at this. >> every weekend marissa opens the house to an ever-changing mob of friends, visitors, drop-ins and family. >> this is fantastic. >> they do not skimp on the food. delicious, delicious things pour out of the kitchen. tarnish the deluge of peruvian favorites. >> eggs, avocado, and mashed yellow potatoes. >> okay. >> from the coast. >> beautiful. >> basically walking fish fillets dressed with ahi,

amarillo. >> seviche, fresh scallops and lemon juice. fish braised in a corn-based beer. >> it's a great spice. >> very spicy. >> oh, and stufred peppers served with cheese. >> wow. are we lucky or what? >> we are lucky. >> that's just the beginning. there's so much more food there's no way we could show it all, much less describe it. it's incredible. overwhelming. fresh and delicious and thrillingly different than what i'm used to. >> i could frankly get out of the chocolate business right now. put up a pup tent on marissa's porch and pretty much dig in for the duration. this is living. >> yeah. >> those little fish are amazing. >> what if you're her next door

neighbor. tloo incredible. so good. >> so as peruvian cuisine, has it always been this diverse and delicious, and we're just discovering it, or has it changed over the last -- >> it's changing any way. you are eating now, it's the traditional food. >> there's so many products in peru that are unfamiliar to people in the states. when you eat this food, it's not like, well, this is something like -- no, it's not kind of like anything. it's really all its own. >> it's good and rich. all year-round. >> the ricotto is very good. >> what do you do when you are wanting peruvian food in your traveling? >> it's -- the spaniards. >> i hate to say good-bye to this, but it is what it is. things to do, places to go. wild and apparently extremely rare cacoa trees to visit. >> so happy.

>> all i can say people are anywhere near this nice on the rest of the trip, it's going to be okay. >> lima, city of king. home to one-third of peru's people. locals escape by hanging out at the beach. why not when you can maybe get a tattoo while you're at it? is that sanitary? >> you've been here before. >> oh, yeah.

>> i take eric's suggestion. we head over to see chef javier wong. uniquely nonconformist seafood specialist. famous for his incredible and uncompromising seciches and his flaming wok. in peru they have a national dish, then it's probably seviche. the freshest fish, needs the right cut, a little citrus, and no heat. >> what's the most common thing that people do wrong? >> you don't do a seviche with something that is not fresh fish. the cut is very important. the thickness. >> right. >> and when you do it, you don't do it too much ahead of time. >> the whole place is served whatever menu he is doing that day. same for everybody. today the flounder he got from the market is particularly nice. that's what we're getting. generally thicker pieces to stand up to the spices and

acids. octopus and flounder seviche. >> i don't know who to tell you, man. it's damn good. >> it is good. >> you ever been spanked in your life and enjoyed it? me neither, but i don't like pain. >> spanked with a pepper. >> brutalized with a pepper, i like. the flounder dressed with pecans, lime, and sesame oil, which clearly eric likes. >> oh, really? >> yeah. >> so you're not like foraging in the catskills for your inspiration? you basically just rip your ideas off of small businessmen? >> perfect.

>> immigrants came to peru in the 19th and 20th century as contract laborerers and farmers, and their influence is felt here. particularly in the food. to a greater degree than anywhere else in the continent. it's that and the ingredients of the am zona and andes that distinguishes the food here as something special. >> well, what is this? otofu. >> fresco no? >> is that pine apple? where did that come from? that's not traditional. >> it looks asian to me. i believe it's probably -- >> his name is wong. i mean, unless he is a retired porn star -- this shouldn't be good, but it is. we're going to have a sweat on that one. i might have a couple more beers after this. go sour and have a nice midday nap. ♪

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>> one more day in lima. a chance to delve further into

the cuisine before things get a little more old school. >> we prefer -- he has -- >> cool. >> it's long leafed. much more powerful in flavor. >> you would be wrong to not point out that peru, along with brazil, is at the forefront of a movement celebrating the incredible and unique ingredients from the andes and the amazon. flavors you find no place else on earth. >> there seems to be a lot of interest in the last decade in the amazon because it's an amazing spectrum of entirely new to most of us flavors and ingredients. >> pembro is at the cutting edge of exactly that territory. his restaurant amaz explores the rivers, the ocean, the landscape of peru.

>> you have two grapefruit tuna. so the nut is a fruit, and until we use the fruit. >> compliments really well. >> and this one is fresh water shrimp made of tera root and fresh water shrimp. >> it's almost like you need a new section. >> it's so exciting because they are basically an mazing garden. >> this is a soup made of hen and peanuts and corn. >> i have enjoyed these cocktails too. >> we're going to be wasted. >> we'll be fine. oh, whoa.

>> so this is also tradition. this is called. >> we have 200 types of catfish. >> it's second biggest fresh water fish in the world. underneath you have a puree of fruit and the sauce is a reduction of fermented wild yuca. >> fermented? >> this is toxic or -- >> poisonous. >> yeah. >> so they let it ferment, and it becomes -- can you eat it. >> these fish are unbelievable. they get up to, like, 600 pounds, and they swim in water no deeper than a rice paddy. >> really? >> giant. they're like dinosaur fish. everyone has been saying for years that peru was going to be the next big thing as far as restaurants. >> and it is. this really proves it. >> we have chilli pepper made with nuts and these are --

>> wow. they're huge. >> they're huge ants. >> okay. >> you try? >> yeah, yeah, totally. >> you're not loving it, are you? >> no. >> imagine you took a lot of acid and it ate that whole ball of ants and then you go home, and you experience violent diarrhea, and you're tripping and it's, like, 4:00 in the morning, and you turn around, and you look at the toilet, and, like, all these ants heads floating around in there. it would be cool. >> yeah, i can't wait. >> now that we've confirmed what we already knew, that peru's food is unekwifically awesome, it seems proper that we take a trip back in time to meet the forebearers of this country's rich, cultural legacy. the herrera museum in liening lima has a massive collection of precolumbian artifacts.

looking at them, you get an idea of what these ancient peoples were like. how they lived. >> this is like the real stuff. >> i think so. >> gold necklaces. you see the spanish just freaked out when they came here. turned out to maniacal greed heads. >> history does not have to be boring. it can be sexy. >> i don't know whether you can do this, but i have an officianado of early erotica of post columbian of pottery and people doing it. >> yeah. >> i should have known that. >> turns out things could get pretty interesting back in the day. oh, yeah. those guys could get crazy, get wild, and apparently very kinky. >> erotic gallery. >> that's a conversation starter. >> i take eric to the

precolumbian section, the erotic pottery section. >> slipping -- >> amaze. >> sounds as much fun as the all new renaissance fair that is actually pretty cool. >> nothing new under the sun with these pre-columbian horn dogs didn't think of first. >> man. >> i'm not sure i understand this one too. >> i think we frown on that these days. >> they're doing it under the blanket. this must be after the spanish arrive to teach them shame. oh. skeletons with boners. >> they are zombies.

>> this was early porn or -- >> they probably added clothes somewhere or something. >> i bet this was right on the table. have a cup of tea. sit down. some animal on animal action. pretty awesome. >> interesting. yeah. i'm happy we made it here. that was an enlightened moment. something about triple x erotica -- legal wra comes alive with the smell and the familiar

enticing sound of sizzling meat. it's time for delicious, screamingly hot garlicky spicy flavor jack street meats. as anybody who knows me is well aware, i love me some sweet meat. >> other neighbors complained? >> complained. >> our friend brought us to this place. a street stall named for the lady who runs the joint. they specialize in one thing. it's skewered meat. this stuff goes back all the way to the incas and was immediately as popular with the conkwisa doors as today. which is to say i must have some. traditionally a mix of beef hearts and other animal parts.

>> chicken hearts, gizzards. >> marinated in onion and vinegar. pile it up and pile it high. >> mounds of food. >> roll it out. >> it does not get any better. >> voila. good. >> check it out rash. >> man, it's awesome. beef hearts. that is some magic right there. >> it's very -- it's nice. >> i have something for you. chicken heart. >> hmm. that is seriously tasty. >> deliciouso, huh? bellisimo. >> the texture is so nice. >> all right.

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>> this city lies about 400 miles northwest of lima. it's peru's fourth largest city with over half a million people living there. it's our next stop, the staging area for our trip to the mountains to find our cacoa. chocolate. we know we like the stuff, but how is it made? where does it come from?

columbus was the first european to encounter cacao beans on a mayan trading canoe off the coast of honduras. he is said to have grabbed cargo and brought them back to spain. a few years later a spaniard came across aztecs using the sacred bean as a drink. it was considered the drink of the gods. like most expensive delicious things from abroad, the largely inbred and frequently european loyalty did their best to keep up what was fast becoming a craze for hot chocolate to themselves, but it soon found its way to america and in 1765 the first chocolate factory opened in new england. >> the market is a massive one stop shop for all things chocolate. as well as everything else under the sun. >> get your animal skulls. >> whoa.

>> that's tempting. haircut? >> no, i'm good. >> wow. >> cacoa. >> those are the raw beans. >> that one is the -- >> toasted. >> grinds it. >> then she puts it in a malt. >> gracias. >> bitter. >> not sweet at all. they don't put sugar. actually, here we are in an area of the market, usable, where it's what they call santaria. >> it's how shall i put it, he has more of a spiritual side than me. it's all the ingredients that you need. >> okay. >> so he has us shopping for what i guess you call supplies. >> which place are we going to? i like the lady with the sunglasses. >> medical, medicinal herbs with

supposed natural properties. stuff that is blessing us in our cacoa front. >> it smells like hippie. >> it's interesting they are very well respected in the country and in the region. they cure everything. >> good? >> yeah, it's really good. >> or journey continues by road towards the andes. >> the indians away -- we're stopping off to meet our shayman.

>> he is going to teach us how to do the plants. >> okay. >> he is cleaning. he feels vibrations. >> close your eyes.

>> he wishes you a lot of success. >> a little bit more. especially in the back and the neck. that's it here. >> we got a blessing for our harvest. we got this. my ora is now cleaner than gwyneth paltrow's colon after a juice cleanse. >> we're not done. we got to transport this stuff to our trees and finish the job ourselves. >> i'm serious. i'm not joking. >> i have an open mind.

>> eric and i are heading to the canyon. eight hours by car well into the andean hylands. on the way we stop for lunch and meet up with this guy -- >> chris curtain, master chocolateeer and our business partner in this knuckleheaded adventure. >> one of life's great joys is eating in a peruvian market. >> for breakfast. it's nice. >> so basically a hen soup. >> that's good. >> where in the world does chocolate come from? >> just because of the political situation.

>> what we are going to look at. >> yes, absolutely. >> where it comes from, what's involved. >> eric ate some of chris's chocolate, heard about these wild trees he was sourcing from in peru, and promptly got me involved in this designer chocolate bar business. >> i never really gave it that desserts. you, on the other hand, you eat chocolate every day. >> yeah, every day. >> and so here we are. three men in a chocolate bar. good thing for the world and exploit ative tunism, yet to be determined. what do i after all, know about chocolate. next to freakin nothing. >> it's good like that, right? >> like oliver twist there. we used to eat it like that in the orphanage. [ male announcer ] for diarrhea, you take kaopectate.

but for all these symptoms, you also take kaopectate. new kaopectate caplets -- soothing relief for all those symptoms. kaopectate. one and done. >> the canyon. we're headed to meet some of the farmers who supply the beans that make our chocolate and to get me an education in all things cacao. the roads up into these mountains can be tricky. we got to take care of the local vigilante dude that is run a roadblock here outside of town. it looks like a shakedown, but

they're a welcome site. this hill where cars have to slow down is where all sorts of highmen used to waylay travellers like us. these girz step in to take care of business. >> that will sloot through an engine block. i don't really know, but i'm assuming. >> this time of year it's also the rain and mud which can mean flooded streets and streams that cut right across the roads. and there's this. the river. in the best of circumstances a fairly adventurous way to get your vehicles across. a long line across a fast-moving current. the ferry propelled only by the flow of water. today the river is too high, and the current too fast. it's these smaller boats or

nothing. >> in dealing with complex transportation issues, best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out. >> so let's go on the boat. >> to my crew i say good luck. we're headed for what looks lake a bar on the other side. >> let me tell you, it's quite a ride. >> i'll go the last. >> the boat is sinking. >> you have to go down and then up just right.

we make it to the other side reasonably dry. the canyon is home to a wide range of species, including and most interesting to us a strain of cacao previously thought to be almost extinct. a few years ago the cacao trees were jeanettely tested at a usda lab and proven to have identical dna to one of the rarest forms of cacao in the world. this stufr, the real deal. pure. don is our cacao connection. a farmer whose family has been working these mountains for over 40 years. >> they're absolutely beautiful. >> they come right off the trunk of the tree. they sort of look like somebody glued them to the side.

>> this is the peak season. >> it comes off like that. put one in your mouth. bite it. you see the seeds inside. those are the cocoa beans. >> where does chocolate come from? the bean. >> okay. here's where chocolate comes from. the trees produce pods. you split open the pods and take out the beans. the buyer sun dries the beans, then roasts them. after roasting, the beans are extracted from their shells and ground up, producing chocolate liquor. mix this concentrate with milk, sugar, cocoa butter, and you get what we call commercial chocolate. now, our chocolate bar sells for a nose bleed price that's high by even people upchocolate standards. where does the money go in? most importantly to me and eric, are we doing a good thing? here's how it breaks down.

the raw cacao costs one chocolate. labor? the inner sleeve, this much. designed, box, packaging this much. various sundry equipment miscellaneous, another small chunk. chris, me, and eric get a slice out of every bar. that leaves this much which the retailer takes. chef bleeding heart hippie here has already defensed me to give whatever profits we make to a local charity. >> what's unusual about these pods, these beans? >> they're extremely high quality flavor. >> not around for a while. >> this was almost all chocolate made 120 years ago. now it's making a giant comeback. as a chocolateir this is a once nay lifetime found. >> 40% of the beans from these binz have white cacao beans mixed in. the rest are purplish in color. we've heard of an ultra rare group of trees elsewhere further up the mountains that produce

pods with 100% all pure white beans. that's something me and eric are very interested in down the road. for now don's daughter, johanna, has prepared us a traditional peruvian mountain meal. >> oh, oh. >> they're rice dumplings with boiled egg, chicken, and ashote inside. >> wow. >> this is amazing. >> surprisingly, some guinney pig of which there seems to be many around for the taking. this preparation served with a cacao sauce. all of this food is delicious. chocolate. it's a luxury. >> yes. >> this is an area that's abundant with coffee, chocolate, fruit. how is life for the locals?

>> 20 years ago, 25 years ago it was easier. he was planting soy beans and coffee. then he could not -- the coffee production went down. therefore, it was a financial struggle. now with the cacao trees that they are planting, he has no more stress -- no, no, no! stop! humans. one day we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next... not so much. but that's okay -- you're covered with great ideas like optional better car replacement from liberty mutual insurance. total your car and we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. learn about it at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

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>> i'm in the canyon of peru with my friend and partner in chocolate bars, chef, eric. eric and i are intrigued by these ultra rare all white beans we heard about from don fortunado. we set up a peegt with another farmer, don roberto, elsewhere in the valley. we thought it would be a nice gesture given all the high test culinary talent between us to make him and his family dinner in return for his hospitality. >> what are you thinking? squabs. >> marinade grill.

>> chicken, onion, maybe peppers, a little bit of spice. >> i'm thinking chiriso and -- >> we're moving into the spanish, consuela, and we can use shrimp and chicken. >> that sounds like a plan. >> 24? >> yeah. >> successful? >> yes, so far, but wait until we arrive there. it's going to be interesting. >> don't be a downer, man. i'm optimistic. >> we arrive at the village with a fabled white cacao beans are said to be growing and meet with the village's unofficial mayor and our farmer don roberto who will lead us to the trees. >> okay. what was depicted as a short walk of a slight incline turns out to be an epic hunt up one hill after another. >> when you tie up, we stop,

okay? >> when i slump to the ground and urinate all over myself, that will be a tip that i probably want to stop. >> another reason i hate this place. mountains. >> i love mountains. >> eric, who grew up in the pyrenees, is up the slopes like a gazelle. me? i feel every year of my misspent life with every step. are we there? >> he is has 22 trees. >> i wish i could hear you over the sound of my exploding cap lears. >> by the time we get near the fabled trees, i'm toast. gamping for air, ready to puke from the altitude and the exertion. >> so tell us again. what is unique about these

trees? >> because they're all like these. all of them. >> so these are the only known all white, and why is that good? >> it gives another layer. >> a good flavor? >> yes. >> i would assume. i just -- excuse me. >> oh, nice catch. >> don't get your fingers, man. >> look at that. >> that's it. >> white. >> remember the shaman? well, we still have stuff to do

with that package he gave us. we do presumably want a good crop. better get right with the spirit world. >> oh, jeez. >> too many? >> shaman juice, purified soil, and there you go, chocolate magnates. >> well, good luck, dude. to a good harvest. >> done deal. [ male announcer ] can't get to sleep? can't stay asleep?

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♪ >> the trip down hill, unsurprisingly, is a lot easier on me. time mr. me and chef repair to get cooking. back to basics. wood fire, ingredients from the morning market, and this old school reseibling system. here little fellow. >> i'm ready for the chickens. >> okay. here we go. >> and the red wine. notice i easily maneuver you'd into the job. >> now we have to make the mashed potato and we're good. >> eric's mashed potato secret? around 50% butter. ah, the glory. i think they call it gout. >> okay, let's do it.

>> gracias. >> nicely cooked. [ speaking spanish ] >> the only guy who has the white cacao. we ask all the farmers of the village here to do what he has done. so those other farmers are starting to copy him, and he is happy because it's going to bring wealth in the village, in the valley and in the community. >> afterwards, don adalberto makes a traditional unsweetened hot chocolate preparation, ground cacao nibs and hot water. no milk, no sweeteners, no nothing, just like the ancient kings liked it. >> here we go. gracias. ah, the real deal. >> only water. and this is what they really

used. >> before chocolate hit europe, this is what the aztec kings would drink. >> i might be generous right now. >> here you go. >> gracias. salud. >> salud. >> gentlemen, to education. >> yes. >> so did we do the right thing? is it all right for two new yorkers to make money, however much or however little off the work of struggling farmers in a far away land? fortunado, adalberto, chris, everybody down the line, all the way to the families who pick the pods off the trees seem pretty happy to be doing what they're doing. bury do i want to be in the chocolate business? that's something i'm going to have to figure out. but for now, one last thing needs to be done to fulfill our

shamanic obligations. >> guys, you have to get out. the guy coming with his bike and he doesn't care. >> a bridge, a bundle of eucalyptus leaves, a badly working lighter. got to get right. >> smells like ganja. do you have a lighter? >> we need to burn this stuff and pass it around our bodies three times. >> got something? >> too moist. you got it, man. >> okay. smoking. i'm going to get it. hold on. that is how i get it. >> let's do it. >> okay. >> it's coming. i got it. we did it. >> over.

>> okay, done. >> hey, we have chocolate, i tell you that. >> get into the coffee business. after nine days of threats of imprisonment, confiscation of footage, and what was the most chaotic, difficult, yet amazing trip of my life, the last thing that stands between us and our flight home is the reason we came, the congo river itself. >> the u.n. truck said he had been here this morning. >> i've been held up for days. >> what's up, fred,? >> they're starting the engine. >> awesome. >> just broke down again? >> yeah. >> we now have one hour of daylight left.