It’s easy to imagine you’ve been transported somewhere European when you push open the doors to Sucré Table in South Tampa, a gourmet patisserie, bakery and coffee shop helmed by Brenda Villacorta, which opened along West Kennedy Boulevard in 2020.
A closer look at the treats inside the bakery case hint, however, that the chef’s culinary savoir-faire pulls from intercontinental influences and a life very well-traveled —and tasted —life.
“Food has always been in my family on both sides,” Villacorta, 27, says.
She explains that her mother and father, as well as both grandmothers, were in the restaurant and food business in Peru (where the family emigrated when Villacorta was 5) and also in the Tampa area.
Villacorta grew up determined not to follow her parents’ career path; she’d be an architect or engineer. But culinary classes she took at Steinbrenner High School during her senior year convinced her otherwise.
In 2012, when she was 18, she left on a scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America in New York City. Subsequent years saw her competing on Food Network shows and working in Michelin-starred establishments, including Jean-Georges and Le Bernardin.
Burnout eventually crept in.
“I was working 80 hours a week,” Villacorta recalls.
She had already traveled extensively in Europe and South America but decided to take two months to explore Asia, visiting such countries as China, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.
“I’ve been exposed to so many ingredients abroad and also at the restaurants I worked at, so it was a real education about why we use certain ingredients,” she says.
The decision to return to Tampa to open a gourmet bakery she was sure the city was lacking naturally followed.
Sucré Table sources the finest ingredients, using only Valrhona chocolate from France, European butter and specialized, low-protein French and American flours that lend a diaphanous feel to Villacorta’s sublime croissants. Fruit purees come from France as well, with no added sugars. You may also notice other surprising ingredients, including soursop, Asian purple sweet potato and calamansi (Filipino limes).
The espresso bar serves a Pistachio Latte made with pure pistachio paste, pistachio liqueur and white chocolate ganache that has become an addiction for some. Other pastry case staples always on the menu (until they run out for the day) include the goat cheese carrot cake and strawberry Japanese cheesecake.
“Clients won’t let me take them off the menu,” Villacorta says.
And while her prices may seem steep to the uninitiated, Sucré Table is finding plenty of local support in South Tampa.
“The majority of my customers are people who’ve been with me from the beginning or who’ve migrated here from places like Chicago, New York and California,” Villacorta says.
Everything is made in house, from the macarons to the croissant muffins that never repeat flavors.
“When people ask, ‘When is this coming back?’ I’m like never, so they can always try something new,” says Villacorta.
There are savory specialties too, including cheddar gruyere spinach quiches and the sinful breakfast sandwiches (croissant bun with honey caramel, bacon, smoked gouda, egg, bliss).
“I refuse to do things that are trending,” says Villacorta.
It’s a sentiment that will keep customers coming back time and again to see what she’s baking up.
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