Chef
Ricardo Zarate
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Los Angeles, California, United States
i. Biography
The arc of his cooking reads like a family tree: Peruvian memory at the root, Japanese influence branching through Nikkei flavors, and California giving the work a present-tense ease. In Ricardo Zarate’s hands, the plate becomes a place where inheritance is not preserved behind glass but lived in, stirred, folded, and shared.
Coming Up
Ricardo Zarate trained at Instituto de las Américas, laying the foundation for a career shaped by discipline and a distinctly refined culinary point of view. That early education gave form to an instinct that would later become unmistakable: a respect for precision, paired with a willingness to let flavor travel. From the beginning, his cooking suggested a chef attentive not only to technique, but to the textures of identity itself.
Where They Are Now
The restaurant’s cooking draws on Peruvian Nikkei flavors and a communal, family-style way of eating, keeping the meal close to the table and to the traditions that shaped him. There is a warmth in that approach, a sense of dishes arriving to be passed, tasted, revisited, and talked over rather than merely served. It is a style that feels intimate even when the flavors are expansive, carrying the brightness, restraint, and layered complexity that define his point of view. That current work connects the earlier rooms rather than replacing them. Seen together, those moments trace a career that has moved through different settings without losing its through line: a cuisine rooted in heritage, sharpened by movement, and made vivid in the present.
Signature
Ricardo's signature dishes include Big Eye Tuna Sashimi Ceviche, Arroz Chaufa, Ox Tail Bibimbap, and The Fire of Peru. Each name hints at the play of contrast that runs through his cooking: cool and bright, savory and lush, familiar and surprising. They read like signatures not only because they are recognizable, but because they gather his influences into one clear culinary language.
Honors
Picca was named to GQ Best New Restaurants in 2011. The same year, it was included on Condé Nast Traveler Hot Table. In 2011, those acknowledgments helped define the momentum around the restaurant, placing it firmly within the conversation around new dining in Los Angeles. Paiche in Marina Del Rey was named to Esquire Best New Restaurants in 2013. That recognition extended the story, marking another point along a path that has been consistently shaped by ambition, memory, and a willingness to reframe tradition without letting it go.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Ricardo
Where did Ricardo Zarate train or study?
Ricardo Zarate trained at Instituto de las Américas.
What is Ricardo Zarate known for?
classic Peruvian dishes updated with a California sensibility; Peruvian Nikkei flavors; communal, family-style dining.
