Chef Marcel Vizcarra knew at a young age that he’d not only cook but that one day he’d own a restaurant.
He vowed he would have his own restaurant by age 27. In 2016, he fulfilled his promise by opening Llama Restaurant at 415 Anastasia Blvd. in St. Augustine.
Vizcarra, 33, learned to cook at his mother’s side in Lima, Peru. She was an exacting teacher who made sure the 8-year-old did everything properly.
As a teen he worked for his uncle, Hiro Nakagawa, who operates Ichi Ban Japanese Gourmet restaurant there.
His uncle was another taskmaster.
“It’s not like cooking at home. It’s a completely different world,” he said.
“He said I should come and work for him for a year to see if I really like it, so that my parents didn’t waste money sending me to culinary school.”
Having passed that test, Vizcarra went on to graduate from the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Lima.
Through the teachings of his mother and uncle and his formal training, Vizcarra developed the skills to bring Peruvian cuisine to the U. S.
His food is a mixture of microclimates in Peru and culinary influences from Asia, Africa, Italy and Spain.
Favorite Llama Restaurant dishes are Anticuchos – marinated chargrilled beef heart skewers served over giant Andean corn and potatoes with Panca pepper aioli. It is presented under a smoke-filled dome to recreate the aroma of Peruvian street food.
Mar y Tierra is surf and turf and an iconic Peruvian dish. It consists of stir-fried hanger steak, onion and tomatoes with shrimp and tagliatelle pasta in a Huancaina sauce.
Algarrobina Custard is topped with Carob syrup and dark berries contained in a web of spun sugar.
Vizcarra came to the U.S. in 2010.
With the help of his aunt, who lived in Palm Coast, he took a job at a hotel there.
The high-volume kitchen, however, wasn’t much to his liking. He also met his now former wife there and together they moved to St. Augustine.
He took a job at La Cocina and rose to the rank of executive chef. All the while, he fed his restaurant dream by saving as much money as he could.
He bought a former Italian restaurant for $45,000 and put another $40,000 to build-out what would become Llama Restaurant.
The space is small, with a seating capacity of just 28. But Vizcarra may turn those tables as many as three times on a busy night.
Reservations for groups of four or more may be booked three weeks to a month ahead.
Vizcarra started with five employees and now has 17. He said the crew is so well-trained that he is confident enough to take short surfing vacations and an annual trip to Lima.
“I miss the markets and the produce. In the markets, let me loose. I’m like a little kid,” he said.
Many Peruvian fruits and corn won’t grow here. He makes a monthly trip to Miami for provisions from Peru. He grows his own herbs, microgreens and edible flowers along the outside walls of his restaurant.
He uses hanger steak in his beef dishes. It may not be as tender as filet mignon, he said, but it is known as “the butcher’s cut” because of its flavor.
Vizcarra and his fiancé, Staci Cleveland, operate a three-bedroom, two-bath bed-and-breakfast across the Bridge of Lions at 21 Sidney St.
It is primarily her business and brings in steady income from tourists. It rents for weekends and offers extended-stay opportunities.
A third project is in the works. He is eyeing a spot even smaller than Llama Restaurant.
It is about 500 square feet near the current restaurant. He’d like to serve three-, five- and seven-course prix fixe menus to small groups of about 10 customers.
Llama Restaurant is a natural name for his business.
Like many in the restaurant business these days, Vizcarra sports tattoos.
However, he inked several on his own body.
His first is a simple picture of a llama that he admits getting on a drunken night at age 16.
“I guess I have always been into llamas. It has been my identity since I came here,” Vizcarra said.
Llama Restaurant also remains a family affair. Vizcarra’s mother, Anabelle, regularly works mornings with her son doing prep work for the evening meals.
She has toned down the instruction, he said.
“She used to (correct me) at the very beginning until she figured out my techniques and ways can make Peruvian food even better. But it was a little challenging at the beginning.”