“I'm competitive and I always have. And I think that's why I really enjoyed Iron Chef because it was the time when I knew I was going into battle or going in the Kitchen Stadium. Butterflies in my stomach floating and all of my culinary and cooking senses were alive and so I think that competitiveness that just stay within me. I grew up in Chicago, born and raised, where I played football and I wrestled in grammar school and in high school. It was both kind of combative sports both a little aggressive and so how do you translate over to cooking? Somehow I found it in competitive cooking.”
What we covered in this episode
- We start the interview by addressing the 2018 situation with several restaurants closing and lawsuits.
- Chef Jose Garces talks about the merge between Ballard Hospitality Group and Garces Group.
- His passion for food and the fact that cooking is still a humble craft kept him grounded throughout the success.
- The new company will take Buena Onda brand to a fast casual brand to St Louis and later to other part of the country.
- His competitiveness in business and cooking competition comes from him playing football and wrestling through high school in Chicago.
- He started working when he was height years old and started his first
- While he was in culinary school he discovered that he has a creative edge while playing with the ingredients.
- Chef Jose Garces talks about the creation of his first restaurant Amada (his grandmother’s name), first real Spanish restaurant in Philadelphia at that time.
- His fine dining restaurant Volver serves as well as their Culinary Innovation Lab for ideation and menu conceptions for all the restaurants of the group.
- Stella in New Hope , PA is the brand new addition to the group with American small plates.
- Chef Jose Garces shares how his Latino background influenced his food and his career.
- One of the Latino preparation that is critical is : Sofrito
- The main misconception that American have about Latin cuisine is that it is spicy.
- “I understood early on that I should travel and really learn about traditional cuisines”.
- He traveled to Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, The Caribbean, Cuba, and Japan.
- “Inspiration via culinary curation travels is a big part of how we can create . Bring those traditions back and translate them into ways that works for our markets.”
- Chef Jose Garces explains the role of the Culinary innovation Lab and the use of the menu contribution analysis to reformulate or change specific dishes.
- Inspiration comes from memories, travels, cookbooks, or from a local produce from a farmer. It is a collaborative process.
- Chef Jose Garces talks about the Garces Foundation.
- 5 rapid-fire questions!
Chef Jose Garces and Latino flavors
“My parents both immigrated from Ecuador to Chicago in the late 1960s. So I grew up in an Ecuadorian American household. Mom cooked Ecuadorian meals and I mentioned my grandma earlier. She would come most summers and cook regularly. So growing up in that environment where there are Latin flavors going all the time made a huge impact on me, and I gravitated towards the kitchen. I loved helping my mom with her mashed potatoes making cake batters, breading things, whatever she wanted me to do. It was a special time and left a lasting impact and I again I think that the use of cilantro and sofrito and you know cooking of beans, tamale, empanadas, arepas, all this. These are all foods I grew up with. So even to this day I still make all those things for my children and you know we're seeing market trends where they're becoming more accessible and more widely recognized. So that's exciting as well of cours.
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- Chef Jose Garces & @flavorsunknown
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- BERENJENAS CON MIEL
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- CAÑA-DE-CABRA
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- ALBÓNDIGAS
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- Arroz-Temporado
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- Amada Restaurant
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- Dish at Amada
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- Chef Jose Garces and team by Brooke Everett
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