Brenda Villacorta tried to get away from the kitchen. As the daughter of a pastry chef, she grew up cooking. But as she got older, she wanted to find her own identity. “I soon realized, though, that’s who I was. I couldn’t separate myself from something that was such a part of me,” Villacorta says.
The Tampa Bay native attended the Culinary Institute of America and trained at some of New York City’s most prestigious, Michelin-starred eateries, including Jean George, Dominique Ansel and Le Bernardin, where she was mentored by the executive pastry chef. Villacorta had already appeared on multiple Food Network baking competitions, but her mentor encouraged her to do something big by the age of 25. That something became Sucré Table, Villacorta’s new bakery in South Tampa’s Beach Park neighborhood. “I believe that Tampa was lacking in authentic, high-quality pastries, and I aim to fill that void with well-executed French-style pastries with complex and intriguing flavor combinations,” she says. Villacorta uses fresh fruits and quality ingredients like Valrhona chocolate in all of her creations, including cakes, tarts, mousses, croissants, cookies and savory breakfast dishes. She’s also enlisted local vendors Zeal Coffee and Kaleisia Tea to create a beverage program that was designed to pair with the flavors of her pastries. “We want to bring joy to people during these very scary times,” Villacorta adds.
WHAT TO KNOW:
SUCRÉ TABLE | W. Kennedy Blvd. | Tampa, FL 33609 813 374 5643 | MTue-Fri 9a -5p | Sat 10a-6p
