THE BUSINESS REPORT Eastside Edition: Renowned chef imports Peruvian flavors

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April 2006 THE BUSINESS REPORT Eastside Edition Page 19

By LINDA THOMASCONTRIBUTOR

A chef – described as “the nextEmeril” of the culinary world – mixesfresh seafood with colorful peppers,passion fruit and key lime at hisKirkland restaurant, Mixtura.

Restaurant Hospitality magazinenamed Chef Emmanuel Piqueras, 34,one of the industry’s “rising stars” inDecember 2005, the same monthMixtura opened.

Piqueras prefers to think of him-self as a cook, rather than a chef.

“I’m no prima donna. I am anauthentic cook,” Piqueras said. “Whenyou see me working in the kitchen, Iam there as part of a team. I’m notabove mopping the floor.”

Chef Piqueras grew up in Lima,Peru, with the Pacific Ocean and

Andes Mountains as his playgrounds.His childhood memories include surf-

ing, which he still loves to do, andcooking a vast variety of Peruvianfoods.

Peru’s climate in South Americamakes it possible to grow a range of crops, including red potatoes andquinoa, a staple grain of the Incas.Exotic peppers, wild mushrooms andspices are found in the Andes. Fish,octopus and shellfish from the oceanare abundant.

“Peru has so much to offer on itsown. The food was also influenced bythe Spanish, Italian, French, Chineseand Japanese,” he said. “Our food is afusion or mixture of flavors, andthat’s why we called it Mixtura.”

In addition to fresh seafood spe-

cialties, Chef Piqueras and his teamcreate vegetarian, chicken and beef

entrees.Some of Mixtura’s signature dish-es are: Tacu-tacu de pallares rellenocon vista al mar, which is fresh fishserved on Peruvian lima bean ricecakes that are filled with scallops,shrimp and calamari; Escabecheincludes marinated asparagus andhearts of palm from Peru, flavoredwith olive oil, garlic and piquillo pep-pers; Pastel de chocolate is a dessertof hot molten chocolate cake with coolpassion fruit.

The restaurant seats about 100people with an additional 15 in thebar area for more unique tastes suchas La Pasion de Emmanuel. Thatdrink includes vodka, fresh lime juice

and a homemade guava puree.“If you go Peru and stay there for

one year, eating three different mealseach day, you would not repeat thesame dish,” said Gus Rivadeniera,who is part owner of Mixtura along with Chef Piqueras. Their third part-ner is Oscar Acosta, who’s been arestaurateur in Vancouver, B.C. for 25years.

All three share a Peruvian her-itage and met in Portland, wherePiqueras was chef of the acclaimed

Andina restaurant.Rivadeniera, originally a software

engineer, said they also have “chem-istry” that will make their businesssuccessful.

“We aren’t pretentious people. Weall have a ‘what you see is what you

get’ style,” he said. “But I also thinkEmmanuel can walk on water and

leap tall buildings in a single bound.”The partners considered several

locations for their restaurant and set-tled on Kirkland because of its loca-tion near the waterfront.

They would also like to openPeruvian restaurants in Vancouverand San Francisco. But for now theirfocus is Mixtura.

They recommend making reserva-tions by the middle of the weekbecause the restaurant is packed onFriday and Saturday.

Chef Piqueras said he’s so busy onthe weekend he often doesn’t have achance to get out of the kitchen andmeet customers.

“I love talking to people,” he said.“I laugh and I joke with them. I wantthem to be happy and excited abouttrying food from Peru.”

RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT

Renowned chef imports Peruvian flavo

BUSINESS REPORT / DAVID NELSON

Emmanuel Piqueras met his partners in Portland, where he was a chef inanother Peruvian restaurant, before they opened their Kirkland place.

MixturaAddress,phone and website:148 Lake St. South,Kirkland,(425) 803-3310, Mixtura.biz

Type of food/signature dishes:Peruvian cuisine,fresh seafoodwith vegetables imported fromPeru

Hours: Tuesday-Thursday,Sunday 4 – 9:30 p.m.,Friday and Saturday 4 – 10:30p.m.Closed Monday

Reservations: Required for Fridayand Saturday evenings andrecommended during the week

Special features:Banquet space for 25

After more than 30 years onBellevue’s Auto Row, Michael’s Toyota ispreparing to move to a much largerlocation that it hopes will offermore visibility and greatersales.

When it makes the moveJuly 1, the dealership will gofrom 2.9 acres at its currentsite on 116th Avenue NE to14.2 acres at the new location

on the north side of I-90in Bellevue’s Eastgate.Instead of space for 210 newand used vehicles, the companywill be able to display 550 cars andtrucks. Customer parking will expand to76 spaces, up from the current 32.

The $38 million pricetag includes buying theproperty, construction and moving.

In making the move, the company will be giving up the benefits of doing business where many deal-erships are concentrated in favor of an area withonly one other auto dealer nearby. The companyweighed the pros and cons before deciding to move.

“We’ve been here since 1974 and it’s been a goodlocation,” said Erik Paulson, vice president andgeneral manager. “We’re able to sell 400 cars amonth here. Obviously, I-405 is nearby but drivers

can’tsee us from there. I

think the visibility from I-90 will make thenew store a much better location for us. We’re pro-

jecting that we’ll sell 750 new and used vehicles amonth.”

Paulson said Chaplin’s Subaru and Volkswagen,which is just east of the new Michael’s location, willgenerate traffic, as will Honda of Bellevue, which isto the west and on the south side of the freeway.

Michael’s new location will cover 80.000 squarefeet under one roof. A majority of that – 48,000square feet – will be devoted to service, whileanother 12,000 square feet will be showroom of

new vehicles. The rest of the space will be forparts, accounting and executive offices.

Paulson said the newshowroom will be unlikethe typical car dealer’s

display area. “It willhave a fireplace and12 plasma screen tele-

visions,” he said. “It willbe a more customer-friendly atmosphere with

more of a home feeling than a typical car dealership.That will drive us apart fromother dealers.”Michael’s 177 employees will

be working at a store that covers property for-merly occupied by four retail stores, including Safeway and a Mormon bookshop. Customers willbe able to visit nearby restaurants while waiting for their cars to be serviced.

After the move, Michael’s plans to lease itsexisting location.

While the Auto Row will be losing one dealer-ship, it will be gaining a new one in the future.Lexus of Bellevue has acquired the former Bellevuecity hall and police headquarters south of Michael’sfor $24.7 million and plans to develop a four-storyoffice building and showroom on the site.

Michael’s Toyota leaving Bellevue’s Auto Row