Philly Chef Jose Garces to Take on Iron Chef Bobby Flay
Thursday, July 31, 2008 | posted by Mike
It's a good time for folks from The City of Brotherly Love on Food Network.First, we had Adam and Aaron as two of the three finalists for The Next Food Network Star. Now we get word that Philly culinary star Chef Jose Garces will be taking on Bobby Flay in an upcoming installment of Iron Chef America.
Regular readers of TVFF may recognize the name of Chef Garces, as I've mentioned him a couple of times in the past. His Spanish tapas restaurant, Amada, is an absolute delight. His second, Tinto, is also very good and only a few blocks from TVFF's Philadelphia Branch Office. This guy is the real deal, and it's going to be a lot of fun to see him in action.
Here's the press release:
On Sunday, August 17, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Philadelphia’s Chef Jose Garces will become the city’s first chef-ambassador to Food Network’s “Kitchen Stadium” – as a challenger on the massively popular series “Iron Chef America.”
“It is an honor and a thrill to be chosen to compete against Bobby Flay, who is considered one of the world’s finest culinary talents,” says Chef Garces. “I admire each of the Iron Chefs, and I’m so proud to have shared their kitchen and brought my food up against the best of the best.”
The chefs are given one hour to complete five dishes, which must each include the “secret” ingredient that is revealed to them at the beginning of the challenge. At the conclusion of the hour, the chefs present their dishes to a trio of judges who score each competitor on taste, presentation and originality.
“The energy in Kitchen Stadium inspired me,” says Chef Garces, “and I feel that I put my very best food forward. I can’t wait for viewers to watch the show and feel the excitement that I felt while competing.”
For one week after the episode airs, Chef Garces will share the dishes he prepared on the show with diners at his restaurants; each will offer a special Iron Chef Menu comprised of the five dishes that he created for the competition.
At age 36, Chef Jose Garces has fast become one of the country’s most distinguished chefs, a reputation that he solidified with the tremendous success of his first restaurant Amada, an authentic Andalusian tapas bar, which opened to rave reviews in Fall 2005. He further reinforced this standing with his second venture Tinto, a wine bar inspired by Basque country, the coastal and mountainous region shared by Spain and France, which was one of the city’s most highly anticipated restaurants when it opened in March 2007.In March 2008, Garces launched Mercat a la Planxa, a Barcelona-style tapas restaurant in Chicago, his hometown. Most recently, Garces oversaw the opening of a third Philadelphia restaurant, Distrito, a spirited celebration of the culture and cuisine of Mexico City. His first cookbook, Latin Evolution (Lake Isle Press), will be released in September 2008.
Called the “Latin Emeril” for his wide smile and educational approach to food, Garces is a two-time nominee for the James Beard Foundation’s prestigious “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic” award, and has long been an ambassador of contemporary Latin cuisine. He has appeared in The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Esquire, Conde Nast Traveler, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and Wall Street Journal.
For more information on Chef Jose Garces and his four acclaimed restaurants, or to make a reservation at any of them, please visit www.garcesgroup.com. “Iron Chef America” will air on Sunday, August 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network.
Both photos courtesy of Food Network
Labels: Iron Chef America
