Review of Pica Rico new deli and food takeaway in Helston

Helston is really starting to grow its quality food options and Pica Rico fits nicely into that offering, offering takeaway food as well as produce you can take home to cook with yourself.

Based at 68 Meneage Street – at one time the home of the Cornwall Air Ambulance charity shop before it moved to Coinagehall Street – it is run by husband and wife, Francis Pipe and Jennifer Herrera.

While Francis was born and raised in England, Jennifer is Mexican and together they have both worked as chefs across several countries.

When we spotted the doors open on Thursday we couldn’t resist popping in for a nosey – and ended up changing our lunch plans in order to sample what was on offer.

The deli had only opened two days earlier and while Francis and Jennifer find their feet in their new home there is a small but exciting menu available.

On our visit there was one hot meat option, one vegetarian and salad boxes in three different sizes – large, medium or a small pot (a good size for a side dish). In these you could mix and match your choice from a range of options, from ‘beets and leeks’ with chipotle dressing to spiced lentils with fresh herbs and homemade hummus.

There was also some Mexican coffee on offer that I didn’t get to try this time but definitely plan to go back for.

What we did get to sample, however, was their cake of the day – a glorious chocolate meringue cake that was very much worth waiting for while it cooled down; but more on that later.

To begin with, we both chose the venison ragu quesadillas. These consisted of crispy corn taco shells filled with a rich tomato venison ragu with just the right level of warming spice. This was topped with a mixture of courgettes and another vegetable I couldn’t really identify but liked, and some sunflower seeds to finish.

Venison ragu quesadilla (Image: NQ)

Costing £4.50 each, they are the right size for a snack or light lunch, or to add to a salad box for something more substantial.

Everything is homemade and, chatting to Jennifer, she revealed they even go so far as to grind their own corn for the quesadillas.

That dedication seems to pay off; as we were waiting for our meals an earlier customer made a point of returning, just to pass on how much she had enjoyed her meal.

That cake though. It had not long come out of the oven when we were there and there was a risk of collapse, so we offered to pop back a bit later on once it was ready to come out of the tin.

Sometimes patience really is a virtue and it brings rewards. What followed was a generous slice of chocolate heaven, with a thin layer of crispy meringue on top, a thick layer of gooey (but not runny) chocolate meringue underneath and dense – in a good way – dark chocolate cake at the bottom, with just an edge of cacao bitterness to balance the sweet topping. Quite clearly some expensive ingredients had gone into it, perfectly justifying the £4 price tag.

The chocolate meringue cake of dreams (Image: NQ)

Outside, the windows advertise ‘fresh’, ‘seasonal’, ‘ethical’ and ‘organic’ produce – and it lives up to it inside.

There are locally grown vegetables for sale, along with milk from Trink Dairy at St Ives and a range of artisan sauces.

Even the cardboard takeaway boxes state that, unlike many containers coated with plastic or chemicals to contain the food, these are coated with seaweed that will naturally break down.

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As previously reported in the Packet, Pica Rico received a funding package of £67,100 via SWIG Finance, to help create the speciality deli takeaway.

This funding enabled the couple to open the deli and launch their brand with a more professional image.