Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: winning chef Diego Oka of La Mar
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: chef Diego Oka cheered by adoring guests
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: the icy premium lager was featured during the event
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: the evening's menu included Causa Limeña
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: chef Diego Oka with La Mar general manager Gabriele Originario
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: the evening's menu included Cebiche cremoso
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: winning chef Diego Oka
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: Christina and Kaushik Das
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: chef Diego Oka serving his fans
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: winning chef Diego Oka with restaurant manager Fatima Zimic and GM Gabriele Originario
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: Mariah Hodges and Kim Wu
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: Tom Walton of Fortune PR with La Mar GM Gabriele Originario
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: John Brosnan of Kimpton Hotels with Mariam Bulin-Diarra and Richard Lopez
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: La Mar fans Kim, Karuna, Evan, Derek, Chris C., and Mariah
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: Jonathan Chin, Laura Peisl, Gwen Elwood, Nar Parisawan
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: chef Diego Oka celebrating his win
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: guests in La Mar's Cebiche Lounge
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: winning chef Diego Oka with brother Sebastian Oka
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: La Mar GM Gabriele Originario, marketing consultant Susan Hwang, and 7x7's Adam Shandobil
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: Jake Rand and Natalie Griffin
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: Anthony Laurino and Kevin Brennan
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: Marisol Kinoshita with Dave and Robert Fukuda
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: the evening's menu included Chupe capuchinos
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: winning chef Diego Oka with (l-r) Mirna Blanco, Samary Ribas, and Hiromi Fukuda
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: the evening's menu included Seco
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: winning chef Diego Oka with his best friends!
Sapporo's Your City Your Chef 2013: the icy premium lager was featured during the event
7x7 and Sapporo held a private event to toast this year's winner of our annual search for San Francisco's next culinary superstar: Chef Diego Oka of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, overlooking stunning bay vistas on San Francisco's lively Embarcadero.
Guests at the exclusive event included 7x7 voters who cast La Mar as the frontrunner in a fierce online contest earlier this year, as well as the restaurant's owners and VIPs, and special guests from the contest's presenting sponsor, Sapporo premium beer.
Chef Diego assembled a menu of La Mar's signature dishes—showcasing his flair for elevating traditional Peruvian food to haute cuisine—that was designed to pair very well with Sapporo. General manager Gabriele Originario and restaurant manager Fatima Zimic also arranged for some bubbles to be poured at the celebration.
The event also functioned as a working photo shoot to populate a spread in 7x7 magazine—the annual Hot Issue, to be published in October 2013! Keep a lookout on newsstands soon!
La Mar San Francisco, Pier 1.5 Embarcadero, San Francisco, 415-397-8880, lamarcebicheria.com
The Celebratory Menu from Chef Diego Oka of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana
Causa Limeña
Duo of whipped potatoes topped with Dungeness crab + rainbow greens
Cebiche cremoso
Scallops and mayo with leche de tiger and aji amarillo + chalaquita + bay scallops + 1 sea urchin + micro cilantro
Pulpo anticuchero
papa mortero + octopus + roasted peppers + olive aioli + micro cilantro
Chupe capuchinos
chupe reduction + milk foam + huacatay powder
Seco
tamale pure + seco in cubes + chalaca sauce
Lucuma + chocolate
chocolate alfajor cookies + lucuma mousse + chocolate flan
Special thanks to Kristen Glenn and Matt Weadick of Sapporo; and to Rafael Hernandez, Susan Hwang, Jason Kenny, Martine Meyer, Ashela Richardson, Hank Surjadi, and Max van der Sterre of La Mar.
Photos: Nikki Ritcher Photography
