In 2007, the Peruvian Society for Gastronomy was born with the objective of uniting Peruvian gastronomy to put together activities that would promote Peruvian food and reinforce the Peruvian national identity. The society, called APEGA, gathered chefs, nutritionists, institutes for gastronomical training, restaurant owners, chefs and cooks, researchers and journalists. They worked with universities, food producers, artisanal fishermen and sellers in food markets. One of their first projects (2008) was to create the largest food festival in Latin America, called Mistura ("mixture" in Portuguese). The fair takes place in September every year. The number of attendees has grown from 30,000 to 600,000 in 2014. The fair congregates restaurants, food producers, bakers, chefs, street vendors and cooking institutes from for ten days to celebrate excellent food.