This Elgin Street restaurant chef qualified for the 2025 Canadian Culinary Championship

Lizardo Becerra, chef-owner of Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine prevailed over five other Ottawa chefs Wednesday night and qualified for next year’s Canadian Culinary Championship.

Becerra, whose Elgin Street restaurant is named after his young son, moved from Peru to Canada more than a decade ago. Formerly in the kitchen of Feast + Revel in the Andaz Hotel ByWard Market, he later opened Raphaël Express in the City Centre complex, a takeout-based business during the pandemic’s early years. After that business closed, Becerra opened Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine initially on Clarence Street, in September 2022, before moving it to Elgin Street.

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At the Ottawa edition of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, which was held at the Fairmont Château Laurier, Becerra served a dish of sockeye salmon escabeche that took home the gold, as determined by a panel of seven judges that included past winners and Ottawa chefs Briana Kim, whose next restaurant Antheia is eagerly awaited, and Raghav Chaudhary of Aiana Restaurant Collective.

salmon dish — Gitanyow sockeye salmon, almond sweet potato velvet, escabeche Demi-glace, Aji Limo spheres, Botija olive powder, popped Kiwicha, Aji Panca rice crackers, micro cilantro by Chef Lizardo Becerra of Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Gitanyow sockeye salmon, almond sweet potato velvet, escabeche Demi-glace, Aji Limo spheres, Botija olive powder, popped Kiwicha, Aji Panca rice crackers, micro cilantro by Chef Lizardo Becerra of Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine Canada's Great Kitchen Party held at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. September 25, 2024. Photo by Jean Levac/Ottawa Citizen — Gitanyow sockeye salmon, almond sweet potato velvet, escabeche Demi-glace, Aji Limo spheres, Botija olive powder, popped Kiwicha, Aji Panca rice crackers, micro cilantro by Chef Lizardo Becerra of Raphaël Peruvian CuisineCanada’s Great Kitchen Party held at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. September 25, 2024. Photo by Jean Levac/Ottawa Citizen Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Winning silver was Stofa Restaurant’s chef-owner Jason Sawision, who served an elaborate dish that had smoked pork hock and confit chicken presse and a potato roulade topped with aerated brown butter hollandaise among its many components.

The bronze winner was chef Mitch Lacombe of Gitanes, who served a multi-faceted plate based on duck a l’orange.

duck dish — Whole Mariposa duck a l’orange, dry aged duck breast crusted with Szechuan and lavender potato pavé layered with duck leg rillette, foie gras mousse with kumquat marmalade, duck skin crumble, orange agrodolce sauce, morel mushroom and Shiso by Chef Mitch Lacombe of Gitanes. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Also competing were Patrick Garland of Absinthe Cafe, Kristine Hartling of Oz Kafe and Sarath Teegavarapu of Kathā.

The 2025 Canadian Culinary Championship is to be held in Ottawa Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.

Three Ottawa-area chefs have won the national event since it launched in 2007. Chef Briana Kim, whose next restaurant Antheia is eagerly awaited, won the Canadian Culinary Championship in 2023. Yannick LaSalle, now the Supreme Court of Canada’s chef, took home the gold in 2019, when he was the chef at Les Fougères, in Chelsea, Que.

Marc Lepine, chef-owner of Atelier on Rochester Street, was the national champion in both 2012 and 2016. He is to open his second restaurant, La Petite Sauterelle, on Somerset Street West later this year.

phum@postmedia.com