Jose Garces

Who is Jose Garces?

Jose Garces is an Ecuadorian American chef, restaurant owner, and Iron Chef. He was born in Chicago to Ecuadorian parents. He won in the second season of The Next Iron Chef. After graduating from Gordon Tech in 1990, Garces studied Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Chicago.

Garces owns seven restaurants in WADA Philadelphia: Amada, Tinto, Distrito, Rosa Blanca, Village Whiskey, Garces Trading Company, JG Domestic and Volver. He also owns three restaurants in Atlantic City, NJ at the Revel Hotel and Casino, they include Amada - Atlantic City, Village Whiskey - Atlantic City and Distrito Cantina. Distrito Cantina includes a reproduction of the Gaupos Taco truck inside the Revel Hotel. He also operates additional locations in Scottsdale, AZ with Distrito - Scottsdale, a continuation of his award winning Distrito restaurant brand, and Old Town Whiskey in the Sagauro Hotel. And in California the Tinto - Palm Springs and El Jefe Bar brings Garces coast to coast. He also serves as Executive Chef for Mercat a la Planxa in Chicago in partnership with Sage Restaurant Group. For his work at these restaurants, he was named best chef, Mid-Atlantic region by the James Beard Foundation.