Jose Garces
Winner: The Next Iron Chef, 2009; Iron Chef America, 2008
Philadelphia
Philadelphia-based chef Jose Garces (www.grg-mgmt.com) burst onto the dining scene in 2005 with his first restaurant, the Andalusian-style tapas bar Amada, and has since helped the city rise to the ranks of foodie haven. Over the years he has opened five additional restaurants, one in his native Chicago and four in Philadelphia: Chifa (Peruvian Cantonese), Distrito (Mexican), Tinto (Basque-influenced wine bar) and Village Whiskey (classic American bar). He has also authored a cookbook, Latin Evolution, and appeared on Food Network’s 2008 Iron Chef America, defeating Iron Chef Bobby Flay. As the winner of the 2009 The Next Iron Chef, Garces will also compete on the upcoming season of Iron Chef America.
Groups of all sizes are accommodated at all of Garces’ Philadelphia eateries, whether hosting a cocktail reception or multicourse dinner. Garces shared some of his trade secrets with Meetings East.
Do you have an overall philosophy of the cuisine you serve at your various restaurants? Each of my restaurants offers a different cuisine, but their uniting factor is the use of top-quality ingredients in thoughtful, innovative preparations. I’ve long believed that superior components produce a superior dish, so my chefs de cuisine and I source and use the finest raw materials to create the food that we’ll serve our guests, whether that food is Andalusian tapas at Amada or American bar fare at Village Whiskey.
Hailing from Chicago, why did you choose Philadelphia as your base for most of your restaurants? I came to Philadelphia by way of New York City. My philosophy is to try and learn as much as I can from every experience that presents itself to me, and I had an opportunity to leave New York and come to Philadelphia to work alongside some very talented chefs and restaurateurs. Along the way, I fell in love with Philly—and my wife, who I met here—and before long, it felt like a natural place to live, work and raise a family. It’s got some of the same street-smart appeal that I love about Chicago, so it didn’t take long for it to seem like home to me.
How would you say you fit into the dining scene in the city? Philadelphia’s dining scene is a fascinating one, evolving at a faster pace than perhaps anywhere else in the country. Diners here have come a long way from the cheesesteak-loving, red-gravy-and-pasta reputation that once represented them; they’re curious and adventurous, interested in discovering new cuisines all the time. I think that my arrival here was a very happy accident because I found a place so eager to embrace my food and yet knowledgeable enough to challenge me all the time to take it to the next level and keep growing as a chef and restaurateur.
Are there other culinary experiences in Philadelphia outside of your own that inspire you? I love all aspects of our dining scene: the lavish, once-in-a-lifetime meals at restaurants owned by famed chefs; the small, intimate BYOB restaurants that have cropped up around the city; the late-night eateries in Chinatown; and the markets that offer local produce, poultry, meat and seafood. The diversity here is a wonderful characteristic of the dining scene—and is the most inspiring thing of all.
Where do you dine when you go out in Philadelphia? I really enjoy the classic Italian fare at Dante and Luigi’s, the manicotti and braised calamari are very good. Recently, I’ve been going out a lot with my family to Dim Sum Garden, and we keep ordering the same dishes—soup dumplings, scallion pancakes, marinated pork and chicken on a stick.
Do the Iron Chef competitions in any way change your approach to your cuisine or what you serve?
I think that my approach has always been guided by respect for technique and tradition, love of excellent ingredients and a healthy dose of innovation, and those were all things that I relied on during The Next Iron Chef. Being on the show definitely also helped me tap into my creative side and offered additional exposure to cuisines I’d love to explore more fully. As a chef, I hope to always be learning and growing, and Iron Chef America will be an important step in that process for me.
Do you have any other new projects in the works? I’m very excited to open Garces Trading Company, my latest Philadelphia restaurant, in February. It’s a European-influenced gourmet market-cafe, offering a wide array of items both for eat-in and to-go orders, as well as a boutique wine store and coffee shop. After that, who knows? As I said, I’m always learning and growing.