Chef Jose Garces has fast become one of the country’s most distinguished chefs.  He has opened four acclaimed restaurants since October 2005 through his acclaimed Garces Restaurant Group.  In July 2008, Garces opened Distrito, which celebrates the inspired cuisine of Mexico City.  Earlier this year, in March, he launchedMercat a la Planxa, a Barcelona-style tapas restaurant in his hometown of Chicago.  Mercat, a collaboration with Denver-based Sage Restaurant Group, was Garces’ first restaurant outside of Philadelphia.  His second venture, Tinto, a wine bar inspired by Basque country, the coastal and mountainous region shared by Spain and France, was one of Philadelphia’s most highly anticipated restaurants when it opened in February 2007, on the heels of the tremendous acclaim that greeted his flagship restaurant, Amada, in October 2005.

Chef Garces recently appeared as a challenger on Food Network’s wildly popular Iron Chef America, defeating Bobby Flay in inimitable style.  In September 2008, his first cookbook, Latin Evolution, was printed by Lake Isle Press.

Called the “Latin Emeril” by one food critic for his wide smile and educational approach to food, Chef Garces, who the prestigious James Beard Foundation nominated for its “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic” award in 2007 and 2008, has long been an ambassador of contemporary Latin cuisine, ...