Chef
Erik Ramirez
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- New York City, New York, United States
i. Biography
Cooking rooted in Peru in New York can carry memory without freezing it. At Llama Inn in New York City, where Erik Ramirez is chef and partner, the work draws on Peru, Nikkei cooking, classic French technique, and seasonal New York ingredients. Born in New Jersey and shaped in New York kitchens, Ramirez works with tradition as usable material: flavor, texture, acidity, heat, and polish are adjusted without stripping the food of its warmth.
The Trajectory
New York kitchen training put precision, timing, and restraint into the base of the cooking. Early culinary roles for Erik Ramirez at Eleven Madison Park and Irving Mill placed him inside that rhythm before he built restaurants focused on Peruvian and Nikkei cuisines in New York City. The restaurant work since 2015 has treated French technique as structure, New York seasons as supply, and traditions from Peru as the center of the plate. Erik Ramirez is chef and owner of Llama Inn (since 2015), chef and owner of Llama San, and chef of Papa San (since 2025). The through-line is not departure from training but application: composed food that still leaves room for generosity.
The Work Today
The culinary traditions of Peru form the working language at Llama Inn and Llama San in New York City, where Erik Ramirez is chef and partner. The cooking uses the city’s ingredients and seasons to extend those traditions rather than restage them. Brightness, layering, and immediacy matter; so does the line between comfort and surprise. Pollo a la Brasa, ceviche, and Lomo Saltado serve as anchors in this kitchen vocabulary. One signature version of Lomo Saltado is a traditional Peruvian criollo beef tenderloin stir-fry made with soy sauce, oyster sauce, beef jus, and red wine vinegar, served with Chinese pancakes. The dish keeps the savory, acidic, and beef-rich frame of the original while changing the eating format through wrapping and handling. Quinoa and Banana works from contrast and balance: white and red quinoa with banana mayonnaise, fried banana, avocado, cherry tomato, bacon, cashew, and fresh herbs. The composition brings grain, sweetness, fat, crunch, freshness, and bacon into one register. This contemporary vocabulary also includes Red Snapper Tiradito and Pork Belly Anticucho with Char Siu, keeping homage and reinvention in the same station. The broader method blends classic French technique with traditions from Peru while challenging strict authenticity and retaining the spirit, warmth, and vivacity of a traditional kitchen. In Erik Ramirez’s cooking, polish does not mean distance; modern construction still has to carry the appetite and social ease of the source cuisine. Peruvian and Nikkei cuisines also continue through Papa San in New York City, where Erik Ramirez is Creative Chef. The work stays in the space between recognition and revision: dishes remain legible while being adjusted for a contemporary New York dining room.
Distinctions
Erik Ramirez has received James Beard Award, Outstanding Chef (2023). Recognition includes Met Gala Chef (2021) for Erik Ramirez.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Erik
What does Erik Ramirez do now?
Erik Ramirez is chef and partner.
Where did Erik Ramirez work before?
Earlier in their career, Erik Ramirez worked at Eleven Madison Park and Irving Mill.
What recognition has Erik Ramirez received?
Met Gala Chef (2021).
