Chef Lorena Garcia
Venezuelan-born restaurateur, TV personality, TV producer, philanthropist, and published author Lorena Garcia is currently one of the country’s leading chefs, well known for numerous TV series, a successful chain of restaurants, and cookbooks.
Garcia first embraced a love of food as a child, at family gatherings while growing up in Caracas, Venezuela. She graduated with a Bachelors degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University and more recently received an honorary doctorate in culinary arts. She took her first job as an apprentice at the Ritz-Carlton in Paris, subsequently working her way through Italy, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and China. Returning to the U.S., she continued to hone her chops and helped prepare a few, at the Grand Bay Hotel, Jeffery Chodorow’s China Grill, and Red Square.
In July 2002 Garcia took the leap and opened her own restaurants, Food Café and then Elements Tierra, in Miami’s Design District. Garcia's latest restaurant project is CHICA at The Venetian. This exciting, diverse menu draws inspiration from classic renditions and gives guests the opportunity to explore the flavors of Latin American cuisine with influences from Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, among many more.
