Iron Chef Jose Garces Expands His Empire

Jose Garces, one of the Food Network’s Iron Chefs and the mastermind behind several dynamic restaurants in Philadelphia, will be stretching out this spring to Palm Springs, CA, where he will assume the role of executive chef of food and beverage operations at The Saguaro Hotel.

At the hotel, situated in the Mojave Desert, he will manage two restaurants—El Jefe, a modern Mexican restaurant and margarita bar, and the more refined Tinto, an authentic Basque-inspired tapas bar. Garces will also be responsible for room service and poolside food.

This is the second collaboration between Garces and The Sydell Group and Joie De Vivre Hotels, which operate The Saguaro Hotel. Garces recently took over foodservice at The Saguaro in Scottsdale, AZ. There he opened Distrito, a modern Mexican restaurant, and Old Town Whiskey, a bar that evokes the feel of a frontier drink parlor. A third concept there, Garces Trading Company, offers house-baked goods and coffee-to-go, featuring Garces’ custom-roasted coffees.

These deals with Sydel and Joie De Vivre are not the first Garces has made outside his home base of Philadelphia. Several years back, he joined forces with Sage Restaurant Group to create Mercat a la Planxa, which features Catalan-inspired tapas at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago.

In Philadelphia, The Garces Restaurant Group owns and operates Amada (authentic Spanish tapas), Distrito (modern Mexican cuisine), Tinto (Basque-inspired tapas), Chifa (Latin/Asian cuisine), Village Whiskey (a classic American bar), Garces Trading Co. (a gourmet market & café), JG Domestic (contemporary American food) and Guapos Tacos (a food truck).