Lorena Garcia, first Latina executive chef on the Las Vegas Strip, ‘dreamed’ of opening Chica
Chef Lorena Garcia is the kind of woman we need to see more of in the culinary industry. Not only is she talented, Garcia manages to do it all with an air of ease and pleasantness we all wish we could imitate. The energy she exuded on Top Chef was proof of that.
Born and raised in Venezuela, Garcia completed a law degree in Caracas before moving to the United States to complete her associates degree in paralegal studies. The law bug didn’t last long, and shortly after completing her degree, she went on to study culinary arts at the esteemed Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Garcia’s interest in a range of international cuisines flourished during apprenticeship stints in France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Thailand and China, after which she went on to open her first restaurant, Food Café, in Miami’s Design District. By 2008 Garcia had opened another two restaurants in Miami, both of which she eventually sold.
And it doesn’t stop there. She has competed in Top Chef Masters and helped develop a new menu for Taco Bell, and she currently operates several airport restaurants, most prominently Miami International Airport’s Cocina. Garcia also heads a nonprofit organization that focuses on childhood obesity - Big Chef Little Chef aims to encourage healthy eating starting at young age, an issue which Garcia sees becoming more and more of a problem in Hispanic homes. Not bad for a former lawyer, huh?
Currently she is dominating the Las Vegas Strip with a new Latin American restaurant, Chica, located inside The Venetian. Oh, and she is the first Latina executive chef on the Strip, to boot.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeYiazsFzkD/?taken-by=cheflorena
Garcia recently posted a throwback photo on Instagram of herself and Randy Jackson at the opening of Chica in the spring of 2017.
The design of the restaurant captures the playful, vivacious nature of Garcia and her food alike!
There’s no stopping this lady! The Daily Meal caught up with the all-star chef recently to get a little more of an inside peek into her daily life...
The Daily Meal: How old were you when you started cooking?
Lorena Garcia: I was maybe 6 years old when I took over cooking the family breakfast because mine tasted better. I remember always being happy in the kitchen as a child. I enjoyed cooking and was very interested in learning new recipes and techniques.
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be?
I would have been a news reporter or a teacher.
What’s the most annoying thing that a chef can do in a kitchen?
The most annoying thing in the kitchen to me is an unorganized and unsanitary chef - one that is sweaty and doesn’t wear a hat or take appropriate measures and/or tastes the food with their fingers.
Who influenced your cooking style the most?
My mother was and always will be a big inspiration for me.
What cookbook is on your nightstand?
These days, I’m so consumed with writing my own recipes that my next project has become my nightstand novel.
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
That’s easy - café con leche and a simple cheese arepa with butter.
Do you have a favorite ingredient you’re obsessed with right now?
Currently I love working with different peppers - such as aji amarillo, mirasol, and cachucha.
Which chefs inspire you?
In my early career, Chef Emeril Lagasse was a big inspiration for me when I wanted to study culinary arts. We actually went to the same university.
Tell me about this business and how it came to be?
Chica is the restaurant I’ve always dreamed of creating. With the blessing of my partners, I have been able to celebrate the flavors and cooking techniques of Latin and South America. We have a giant ceviche bar in the center of the restaurant that faces our “wall of fire”- a grilling station where we cook in a number of different ways over live fire - including a stunning Brazilian rodízio.
We like doing our research on the all-stars of the industry, but occasionally people, namely celebrities, get into some sticky situations: Here are the biggest celebrity food stories of 2017.
In the video below Chef Robert Irvine tells us his opinion as to why every big name chef feels like they absolutely must open a place in Las Vegas.
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