After eight painstaking weeks, the Food Network finally crowned Jose Garces as the winner of The Next Iron Chef, a limited-run series that features a stand-alone competition that determines the chef who will then appear on the Food Network program, Iron Chef America.
Garces, who hails from Philadelphia, hosted a viewing party for 400 people at his spirited Mexican Restaurant, Distrito located at 3945 Chestnut Street for the season finale of The Next Iron Chef in which he defeated chef contestant Jehangir Mehta in an ultimate showdown.
The final challenge, which aired last night, saw a traditional head-to-head Iron Chef battle and featured racks and ribs as the secret ingredients. Garces flaunted his technical expertise while Mehta utilized his creativity as they tried to impress the judges, consisting of the Chairman, Masaharu Morimoto, Bobby Flay, and Michael Symon. In the end, though, Jose Garces took home the coveted crown.
"It's a huge risk to go on the show and possibly be eliminated early ... or be displayed in a negative light," Jose Garces told the
Los Angeles Times. "But [if you win] it brings a lot of prestige, it's an honor and a privilege to be an Iron Chef. ... It's very good for business as well, let's be honest. I have six restaurants, so having that title would be great."
And now that he's the
Next Iron Chef, Garces is contemplating about possibly opening a restaurant in New York City.
"If I do anything, it will be an Amada," he said.
(Image courtesy of Food Network)