Behind The Scenes: Executive Chef Eduardo Zerpa - W San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - I sat down with Chef Eduardo Zerpa at the W San Francisco located at 181 3rd Street during a recent visit to the city and learn more about the mind behind the food. Zerpa is Peruvian and is informed by his South American childhood growing up in Lima with his mother's parents in the Andres mountains eating potatoes, corn, cheese, and then ceviche and salads on his parents side.

Peru has a long history of being a country where food is a hub of different cultures and backgrounds and that is evident today in all the different Peruvian fusion cuisines, such as Nikkei, that are gaining ground globally and the award-winning Peruvian restaurant that are winning awards globally. The biodiversity and elevations have fueled a remarkable dining scene. Zerpa is inspired by the growth of interest in Japanese and Peruvian fusion and loves to see the influence Nikkei is having on San Francisco's dining scene at the moment. While some chefs detest fusion, he is inspired by the interaction of different cuisines and cultures.

Zerpa's childhood in South America was filled with visits to the markets with his grandmother. Today, he makes regular visits to the Ferry Building in San Francisco an important part of his position. He meets with farmers there and using fresh food for inspiration for menu curation, drawing from neighborhoods across California including Brentwood and Santa Cruz.

Growing up in the Bay Area, Chef Eduardo Zerpa's father decided to open a family restaurant and over time the future chef came to love working in restaurants as has worked his way up from small businesses to award-winning concepts and now the W San Francisco, picking up new skills and talents along the way including molecular gastronomy and the ins-and-outs of managing the front and back of the house. TRACE restaurant, which Chef Zerpa now leads has a long history of serving fresh ingredients and has been at the hotel since it opened in 1999. Zerpa wants to go beyond organic which is now the standard in California and really focus on local and curated food.

Zerpa likened San Francisco to Europe in its openness to innovation and creativity while having traditional roots, factors that drive his cooking and inspire him. Despite his love for creativity, Zerpa also believes "simplicity is the key to it all" and that "really good ingredients speak for themselves." This approach can be seen in the food that Zerpa makes where a fried chicken has the perfect coating and moistness, but does not get masked by other sauces or ingredients. Communication through food is the way chefs speak.

During the pandemic, Chef Zerpa became a farmer and made his own pizza oven from scratch while others were busy making their first sourdough starters and making dalgona coffee. The slower period helped connect the chef to nature. Zerpa said this pizza oven reminded him of his childhood. His roots are a strong compass that guide him as a chef.

Thinking of his new position at W San Francisco, Chef Eduardo Zerpa certainly dreams of having a Michelin star in the future but wants to lay the foundations first and build the right team. His favorite thing about being an executive chef at a hotel is the ability to focus on food and collaborate with other department with the end goal of being successful and being luxury in a different style.

He's also a big fan of charcuterie cheese boards and dreams of someday having a wine bar and making cheese boards but is looking forward to this journey at W San Francisco as Executive Chef and all it entails. It's the simple things after all.

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a writer and journalist with over 15 years of experience. I write the food and travel blog Carlos Eats (https://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines on numerous topics.