Meet Pica Rico

Francis Pipe and Jennifer Herrera, who describe themselves as “partners in life and cooking”, started Pica Rico Deli in Helston in 2023 with help of a £25,000 Start Up Loan which they used to fit out their professional kitchen.

Francis and Jennifer first met while working in Dubai 10 years ago and since then have honed their skills in kitchens around the world. Their journey began with a pop-up taqueria selling tacos in a Finsbury Park pub and later took them to a restaurant kitchen in Berlin. They also travelled extensively through Jennifer’s native Mexico, learning ancestral cooking methods. This included working with heirloom varieties of corn, which they now grow themselves and grind on the premises using volcanic stones.

A return to Francis’ Cornish roots in 2018 saw the couple work the pop-up scene, including a successful residency in Penzance, before they decided to make the leap and find a permanent home for their business. Having settled on a shop in the centre of Helston in West Cornwall with accommodation above, the couple haven’t looked back. Pica Rico, which roughly translates as ‘spicy delicious’ fuses authentic Mexican cuisine with sustainably-sourced Cornish produce including locally caught fish, and Cornwall-grown meat and vegetables.

The couple also grow their own produce, using the ‘Three Sisters’ planting method where corn, beans and squash are planted together to support one another. They are hoping to extend the varieties of heirloom corn they grow and have recently launched a range of ‘Heat at Home’ take-out meals, “but without all the salt, sugar and preservatives”, says Francis.