For chef Lizardo Becerra, owner of Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine on Elgin Street, it’s been a busy few months, topped off by competing at the Canadian Culinary Championships last weekend.
His restaurant won people’s choice on the first night of the two-day event in the wine pairing competition, serving beet-cured Hokkaido scallop crudo with citrus Grana Padano foam, spiced cucumber, charred basil nuts, and lemongrass plantain.
When I met with him on Wednesday, he still hadn’t had a chance to slow down from the intense weeks-long prep period.
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
Revolutionizing office spaces with smart design
Let’s face it: technology is rarely on our side. Phone not working? Have you tried turning it off and then on again? Whenever we need our devices to work the
Discover Technata event builds bridges between tech companies and talent
You likely already know that Kanata North is home to numerous thriving technology companies. But did you know it actually boasts the highest concentration of technology talent in North America?
“I came in Sunday (the day after) the competition, for service,” he told me as we sat down in the restaurant’s dining room. “We were really busy and also chefs from the competition came. It was nice to see how they enjoyed the meal and understood a bit more what we do. It’s difficult to judge a chef from one dish.”
In September, Becerra and his team beat out five other local chefs in the championship qualifier, earning the opportunity to represent Ottawa on the national stage. The competition was held Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the Rogers Centre Ottawa, featuring 10 of the country’s top chefs.
“There was a lot of pressure,” Becerra told OBJ on Wednesday. “Especially because we’re representing Ottawa, we’re representing our culture. You have a lot on your shoulders. We’re the only Peruvian restaurant, so everyone was like, ‘This is the opportunity.’”
The competition might be over, but for a fine dining establishment like Raphaël, the grind doesn’t stop. Becerra said his team is already gearing up for a busy Valentine’s Day, and next week he will be serving up another unique culinary experience alongside other Ottawa chefs at the Snowsuit Fund’s SnowBall on Feb. 12.
But even when it’s busy, Becerra said he tries to keep a steady schedule.
Days start late in the morning, when he comes into the restaurant, passes through the kitchen, and weaves through hallways currently under construction to settle in his office for administrative work.
Over the past few months, he and some of his team members have been coming in for early shifts to prepare for the championship, refining their dishes and consulting with other local chefs.
The pressure came to a head on the second day of the championships, which included a black box competition that forced the chefs to come up with a dish under strict time constraints using mystery ingredients. Becerra said it was extremely difficult to prepare for.
“It was a little bit hard and it was difficult to get over the nervousness, especially for my sous chef,” he said. “That is the first time she’d had something like that and she speaks very little English. It was uncomfortable with the cameras and the noise, and I think that played against us a lot.”
While they didn’t get the result they wanted in either the black box competition or the finale later that night, Becerra said he was very happy with their final dish.
Becerra spent the months following the qualifier consulting with other local chefs to improve on his winning dish to bring it to the big leagues. It featured B.C. sockeye salmon, topped with an escabeche demi-glaze, which was served in the middle of a delicate cracker halo.
“That was our dish that we prepared for months,” he said. “It was a lot of work, and we had to prepare 650 crackers because they were insanely sensitive. Like 30 per cent of them broke in my hand.”
While the dish didn’t place in the top three, it has raised the team’s expectations of themselves.
“We really want to deliver,” he said. “I want to make sure we’re ready for what’s coming, people with higher expectations. We want to satisfy as much as we can.”
That’s where the creative process comes in.
After checking the inventories, meeting with suppliers and greeting team members as they come in, Becerra will sometimes head to the kitchen to experiment with new dishes.
Becerra’s dishes reimagine foods from his childhood for a fine dining experience. And when he’s thinking about how he wants to make that happen, he said he always identifies what he wants guests to feel.
“Usually I start with a memory,” he said. “When you think about something you remember, it evokes emotions in you: happiness, sadness. If there is a memory linked to every dish, at the end, there’s a lot of stories to tell. We can share it with the customers and it’s bringing them emotions.”
The experience goes beyond just the food. During our meeting, Becerra stops to chat with members of his team in the dining room bar, where they are discussing several different wine options. Becerra picks up a wine glass, gives it a swirl and a sip, and offers his feedback.
It’s this type of work that he says he does regularly to curate the best possible menu.
Afternoons also mean chatting with team leaders and the sous chef to make sure everyone has what they need for the day.
“Sometimes I need to go grocery shopping before the stores close, because some of them close earlier,” he said.
Then, if everything is ready to go, he heads out to do Thai boxing, or muay Thai.
“I like to do my exercise!” he said.
At 6 p.m., he’s back for service and often stays until the last diners leave.
Becerra said the restaurant is a culmination of a long-time dream. Though he has held other chef positions, Raphaël is the first restaurant he can call his own. What began as a takeout restaurant hidden away in the back of a warehouse in April 2021 has become award-winning, with the trophy and certificates on display to prove it.
“We are a young restaurant,” he said. “We’ve been on an ascending curve that never stopped. We did better last year than the previous one and even in January, it was better. Every year we have growth and that’s been consistent. And I think this championship put us on a higher level.”
