
Ricardo Valverde. | Photo courtesy of Suyo
While Peruvian restaurants in Vancouver are few and far between, Peru itself is highly regarded in culinary circles and is home to three of the restaurants making the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Suyo is Valverde’s way of bringing Peru’s dynamic food culture to Vancouver, while also serving as a canvas for his culinary creativity.
“There’s nothing like what I wanted to do in Vancouver having to do with Peruvian cuisine,” he says. “My concept [for Suyo] … is to have the Peruvian soul with a modern approach.”
A melting pot of flavours
Suyo’s menu has a multitude of dishes with a fusion of various cultural flavours. From Japanese prawn tempura to Spain’s chicharron, each dish is a celebration of Peruvian cuisine’s history and origins.
Peru’s cuisine has long been known for its blending of different cultural flavours. Those from Spain, Africa and Italy brought their own dishes and ingredients, and this forged a unique culinary landscape that is still evolving.
“[T]he Spanish brought paellas,” Valverde notes. “So, we have a lot of rice-based dishes because of that.”
Given this history, the process of creating a menu for Suyo was no easy feat. As one of the few Peruvian restaurants in the city, Valverde sought to include classic dishes familiar to the Peruvian community while also pushing the boundaries of culinary innovation.
“I understood that there was going to be people [who] were looking for familiar names with Peruvian cuisine,” he says. “So, we tried to touch on those but still give it our modern spin.”
A well-rounded experience
When crafting new menus for Suyo, Valverde likens his creative process to a quote by Peruvian singer Gian Marco.
“I thank God for giving me the gift or telling a love song or a love story in five minutes,” Valverde recites. “It’s the same for me. Like I wake up one day and [a dish idea] suddenly pops in my head and [it’s basically] 95 percent done… Most of the dishes, I imagine them first before I even taste them.”
While chefs tend to have a signature dish, Valverde admits that he does not have one. Instead, he takes pride in the effort and balance of each dish. This emphasis on balance is also applied to the other aspects of Suyo. As Valverde runs Suyo’s kitchen, bar manager Max Curzon-Price is given free rein to run Suyo’s bar and craft its menu.
“All I did for the bar, to be honest, is [bring] in someone that knows his craft well,” Valverde says. “The only thing we asked is that we had a couple of traditional drinks.”
Valverde’s goal of creating a well-rounded dining experience for customers has led to the 48-seat restaurant being packed practically every night, with diners coming back for both the food and drinks. The success of Suyo sees investors approaching Valverde in hopes of bringing the restaurant abroad, but the chef has yet to decide.
Instead, he is focused on keeping Suyo modern and fresh, ensuring that repeat diners can enjoy a new experience with each visit.
“Keeping it interesting and keeping it fun,” he says. “That’s how I see Suyo in five years.”
For more information, see www.suyo.ca
For more information on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, see www.theworlds50best.com
