Iron Chef Jose Garces dishes on his run on Tournament of Champions and answers how he would feel about returning to the challenge.
Iron Chef Jose Garces dishes on his run on Tournament of Champions and answers how he would feel about returning to the challenge. He reveals the personal quality that he attributes to his success in his career as a restaurateur and competitive chef. The James Beard Award winner shares how he finds inspiration in traveling and incorporates that into his diverse restaurant concepts. He reflects on his Latin roots and some of the early food memories that stuck with him. The chef opens up about his experience in culinary school, confessing that he initially enrolled because he was in need of a job. Jose discusses the moment he knew he belonged in the food industry, between his natural talent and all-consuming thoughts of food. The Philadelphia resident speaks on his efforts to support the underserved communities in Philadelphia through his non-profit organization, the Garces Foundation, and divulges his goal to take the organization to the national level. Jose shares what inspired his love for cooking competition shows and reveals his secret to succeeding on them. The Bobby’s Triple Threat competitor chats about his experience facing the culinary titans and weighs in on the potential of a future rematch with Bobby Flay.
Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/jose-garces-reveals-the-secret-to-competition-shows
Follow Food Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodnetwork
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Follow Jose Garces on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefjosegarces/
Follow Jose Garces on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chefjosegarces
Check Out Jose’s Website: http://garcesgroup.com/home
Learn More About Bobby’s Triple Threat: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/bobbys-triple-threat
Learn More About Tournament of Champions:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/tournament-of-champions
Jaymee Sire:
Hello, hello, and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things food with your favorite chefs, food influencers, and Food Network stars. I'm your host, Jaymee Sire, and today we have an Iron Chef from Philly on the podcast to talk about his recent return to competing and evolving with the industry while maintaining your culinary voice. But before we get into today's episode, just wanted to let you guys know we will be taking a short break, but we will be back with new episodes on September 29th. Now to today's episode, he is a chef, celebrated restaurateur, James Beard Award winner, and a recent competitor on Bobby's Triple Threat. It's Jose Garces. Jose, welcome to the podcast. I think the last time I saw you, we were doing a virtual cooking event during Covid. How have you been since?
Jose Garces:
Been great. Yeah, just having fun, cooking, competing, being a dad, and yeah, just generally enjoying life.
Jaymee Sire:
Well, that's what it's all about. And we're definitely going to get into some of your recent competitions. In fact, when you walked on the set of TOC this past season, you had the chefs shaking in their aprons for good reason. What was your experience like on TOC?
Jose Garces:
Wow, it was pretty wild. I would say definitely a much different format than Iron Chef and one that kind of really levels the playing field. As an Iron Chef, I feel like we had some distinct advantages over the competitors kitchen, whether it was kitchen familiarity or just being in the heat of competition on a regular basis. I felt like there was always an edge in this case, in TOC, it's really just the randomizer, your mind, your ability to create on the fly, and it's pretty wild.
Jaymee Sire:
Would you do it again if asked?
Jose Garces:
Yeah, I would. I felt like I was just kind of scratching the surface, dusting off some rust, getting into the flow. Yeah. So yeah, I would definitely welcome the challenge one more time.
Jaymee Sire:
Well, as you mentioned, you are just one of a handful of chefs who can call themselves an Iron Chef. I got to bug you a little bit in Kitchen Stadium during Iron Chef Showdown. If you could point to one quality you have that has propelled you to that elite level, what would it be?
Jose Garces:
I think the thing that I have, I think is just calmness under pressure, just kind of staying cool and realizing that keeping a clear head and being able to strategize and cook on the fly just is an advantage if you're flustered or if you're overwhelmed or if you panic, you might not do so well.
Jaymee Sire:
Where does that calmness come from?
Jose Garces:
I don't know. I just think maybe upbringing, maybe just being in the restaurant business, it a pretty can be volatile. It can be stressful, and so yeah, I think just life experiences have brought me to this point.
Jaymee Sire:
Let's talk about your career in the restaurant business. We'll get into more competition talk in a little bit, but you are a seasoned veteran both on TV and in restaurants. What are some of the ways that you kind of stay flexible to continue evolving alongside the industry?
Jose Garces:
Well, I think that is the beauty of the industry. And when I got into cooking, when I got into hospitality, it's what I realized at an early age from the time I entered culinary school and I had not been in the industry, but when I entered school and just kind of understanding, wow, I can be on a cruise line, I can work in a hotel, I can be a caterer, I can be a restaurant chef. There's just so much I could do, a fast casual concept. There's just so many different avenues to get involved in, and that was almost 30 years ago. Since then, I've dabbled in just about all of it and have had so much fun. And really the key is evolving and staying current on trends. I pride myself on food investigating, traveling, being inspired, and then coming back to my home base and creating, and that's what keeps it fun and interesting.
Jaymee Sire:
What is inspiring you right now or what's inspired you over the years?
Jose Garces:
Well, usually a lot of my inspirations do come from travel, and I have a brand that's going to be 18 - Amada. It's our Spanish tapas restaurant. We opened it in ‘05. I recently, this summer I did an r and d trip back to Spain along with a hike. So I did the Camino de Santiago. I did a few stages of that in northern Spain and then traveled to San Sebastian in Barcelona. And the food and culture of Spain is, I think it's special. It's great to be able to be inspired by that country and those regions and bring those food ideas back to Philly. So I opened a third version of Amada in the suburbs here of, it's a Radner, Wayne, Pennsylvania. And yeah, it's been great. Just a lot of fun.
Jaymee Sire:
I mean, talking about Amada, as you mentioned at Open in ‘05, I remember eating there in 2010 when I was covering the Giants during the NLCS, and it was already a mainstay and a hot spot. And as you mentioned, you're 18 years in now on that particular establishment. To what do you attribute the longevity of your restaurants?
Jose Garces:
I would just say commitment to quality. The business can tough and you have to perform every day. It's a competitive landscape. There's other chefs, other restaurants who are trying to do their best, and so really it's a daily commitment to excellence and you have to kind of be vigilant about that. I think we are also evolving. We're always looking for fresh ingredients. What are the local makers producing what's new and exciting from Spain that we can bring in? And yeah, it's constant. And again, if you love what you do, it never feels like work. It just feels like, Hey, this is where we need to be, we need to be done.
Jaymee Sire:
But your culinary concepts are diverse. It's not just Spanish food. You've got American Fair at Village Whiskey and just have done a number of different things over the years. How do you approach developing diverse restaurant concepts while also maintaining your own culinary identity?
Jose Garces:
Yeah, I think that's the beauty of the business. And if you're a creative person, which I consider myself creative, that it's a great outlet to do and explore. I've had the good fortune to do anything from a Japanese Akaya, an Argentinian grill concept, a Cuban diner, you name it. And that part has been so much fun. And the thing is that we often, so we archive, we sit on data that we have, and so when there is, part of our business is f and b solutions. So if somebody needs a concept, well, hey, we have it in our pocket to deploy. And that to me has been the fun part of it. I've been able to develop myself as a chef, as a versatile chef, and again, while still holding true to my Latin roots, that's always going to be there. That was my decision in getting into the business was I think after I'd cooked for about 10 years, I decided that I really needed to specialize and really stand out in a category, looked around the Latin sense landscape, and also looked at myself and said, Hey, this kind of makes sense. So yeah, just went down the Latin road and literally my cookbooks called the Latin Road Home because it all kind of roads come back to my Latin roots. And so yeah, it's been quite a journey.
Jaymee Sire:
Why is that so important to you to have those roots reflected in the food that you cook no matter what the cuisine is?
Jose Garces:
Yeah. Well, my parents, gosh, they instilled it in me at an early age. They had immigrated from Ecuador in the late 1960s. I was born in, I call it an Ecuadorian American household. And while we were assimilating and they were assimilating to Chicago and just being Americans, they were also still cooking foods from home from Ecuador. So it was a nice mix growing up. And so yeah, I think that your childhood memories and things that happened at an early age really impact you throughout your adult years. Yeah, I'm a product of that for sure.
Jaymee Sire:
What are some of those early memories that come to mind when you think about that Ecuadorian cuisine and the smells and those things that you remember from childhood?
Jose Garces:
Yeah, I mean, my mom and both my grandma were great cooks. They were in the kitchen a lot, and so some early memories might be arepas, white corn cakes filled with cheese. Those they made for me, I made them for them. I made 'em for my kids. We still make 'em every day as a breakfast staple. So that's one that traditions have continued outside of that classic empanadas, ceviches. My dad loved the grill, so he was always concocting crazy marinades to put on steaks and chicken. He actually has one that he still swears by. He is like, if you put papaya into a marinade, into particularly a beef marinade, there's something, the enzymes in the papaya really break it down and make it tender. And so those were my early lessons growing up. Okay. Yeah.
Jaymee Sire:
Do you use the papaya in any of your marinades now?
Jose Garces:
I do. I do from time to time. It does make an appearance and mostly for events or special menu items. But yeah, and I'll tell you what, it works. It really does it. So yeah, if you're looking for a tender cut of beef on the grill, use some papaya.
Jaymee Sire:
All right. I love that. I'm going to try that. Would you say your family then was the biggest influence on shaping your culinary style, or was there somebody else along the way?
Jose Garces:
Well, I think that the early food memories were very pleasant and warm and obviously comforting. Later on when I got to New York, so I had gone to cooking school, and it's funny enough, I went to cooking school because honestly, I just needed a job. I went to get a trade, I went to get a vocation trade. I'm like, you know what, Jose? You got to start earning here. And so it wasn't until cooking school that I discovered that I actually had talent in the kitchen, and competition actually started then. So my first semester, first block, what we called it at, I went to Kendall College in Chicago. Right away we were given trays of ingredients and misla and Hey, guys, make Dover soul. And so everyone's rushing, everyone's fileting their fish and making their sauce, and here I am, I'm kind of outperforming my classmates, and I'm like, oh, hey, I'm done faster. My food looks better. Oh, this is great. So that discovery was pretty tremendous for me. Then I realized, whoa, again, there's a lot of opportunity in the industry and I think I've got some talent. So from there, I cooked in Spain as just kind of a European experience. I wanted to get that under my belt because I was French, classically trained at school, cooked in New York. I met a chef, mentor, a good friend of mine. His name is Doug Rodriguez. At the time, he was the godfather of nuevo Latino cuisine is what his term was. And so I gained a lot of influence from him just on the food side of things. He actually, he brought me to Philly to work with a restaurateur, Steve Starr, and Steve was a great businessman, had a really nice organization that he was growing. So during that period when I worked with Steven and Douglas, it was about a four or five year stretch. I had the best of both worlds. I had a great culinary mentor and a great businessman that was teaching me that side of the whole equation. And that really formed quite a bit for me in my career going forward.
Jaymee Sire:
When you talk about that moment of realization, I have something here. I can do this. I'm good at this. What switched in your brain from just enjoying and appreciating food? And maybe it's going to be a job for you to, I'm going to be top of my profession in this world.
Jose Garces:
Yeah. It's funny, Jamie, I think you guys have the title right? Right. Obsessed. I just became obsessed with food and became, it was like consuming me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Once I got going, I'm like, why am I dreaming of lamb chops when I'm going to bed? What is going on here? So something definitely clicked, and then for me, I was motivated by lifestyle. I had student loans to pay, had rent, and I was like, okay, I'm going to do my best. I'm going to learn the best that I can. I'm going to live a good life. And as I got into the field, it's funny, I started realizing that it's a lot of hard work. It's a lot of physical work. It's pretty long hours, long hours on your feet. And then really, once I got into that part of my career and just learning how to become a chef, I started at that point is when I really started realizing, okay, I need a strategy on how to be intact in five years and still do what I love to do. And so, yeah, there was a whole period of time when that kind of thinking and strategy was happening as well.
Jaymee Sire:
And as you're kind of moving from place to place, Chicago to New York, and then eventually landing in Philly, what about Philadelphia just felt like home to you? Why have you stayed there for so long?
Jose Garces:
Yeah, yeah. It's a special place here. What can I tell you? So I got to Philly after cooking in New York almost five years, and I looked around the New York landscape, and there was all these stalwarts chefs that honestly are still there holding it down, whether you talk about Jean George, Danielle, quite a few culinary legends that were just in New York, and also, honestly, to open your own business. And that was the aspiration I had. I'm like, wow, it's going to be tough to do this in New York. And so got the opportunity to come to Philly, and it was very fortuitous. Philadelphia was not on my radar, but once I had worked here for a few years and developed a following and developed some loyalty around the community who just liked my cooking, I had two restaurants with Steven and Douglas Almanac, Cuba, and Vez. So I spent almost five years cooking in those spots. And when it became time to open my own place, I did consider going back to New York or Chicago or even Miami, but ultimately found a location here in Philly that is Amata. And yeah, like I said, 18 years later, it's still humming, doing, and Philly's also, I raised my children here. I have a 20 year old and a 16 year old. It's been a great place, great community of people to do that. And yeah, I mean, we're like most major cities. We're having a moment right now, but I'm hopeful that the cities, all the cities kind of pull through in a better way coming up here.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. How would you describe the culinary community there as a whole? Is it very welcoming? Is it a family? Is, how would you describe it?
Jose Garces:
Well, it's funny because I'm old and I've been here a long time. It's one of these things, I would say I'm an anomaly in many ways in our industry, and especially in one town, almost 23 years. I've had several different iterations, and you spoke to it earlier, you have to keep reinventing yourself to stay current. But I've seen being here that long, I've kind of seen all the waves and patterns of chefs and culinary trends and neighborhood builds. I would say that the talent that's here in Philly is really high. There's a lot of good chefs that are opening up and have places here in different pockets, different neighborhoods. And Philly makes it easy, easy to do business. So you do attract a lot of talent down here. But it's growing. It continues to grow. And I would say, boy, pre-pandemic, I remember thinking, looking up at the end of 2019 and saying, wow, the landscape is so competitive right now. I can't believe how many people are opening. I mean, there's only so much market share, but it's like, Hey, it's hot. People were coming to town to eat and have those culinary experiences. So I think on the backside of Covid, and we're still, even though it feels like it's been done for a minute here, we're still kind of, I mean, as a whole, the industry is still, I would say, still in recovery mode, especially in Philly. Yeah.
Jaymee Sire:
Do you feel like though it's on the rise, it's on the up and up, it's getting, getting back to those pre pandemic levels?
Jose Garces:
Yeah, I mean, I think a few dynamics need to occur. I think whether folks want to believe it or not, the office workers are still not back fully. I think it's still probably at 40 or 50%. And so that is a big impact on cities, whether it's lunch, happy hour events, it's 20, 25% of the business. So that needs to continue to improve or we'll just say, Hey, this is the new level. This is where we're resetting. But I think as a whole, yeah, there just, there's still needs to be, there's some civic duties and responsibilities that need to happen from just crime and safety perspective. Just make everyone feel like, Hey, if I live in the burbs, come into town on Friday and Saturday feels like a night out, and they need to feel safe about it. And so that has continue to improve, hopefully. And when those two dynamics kind of settle down, then I think we'll see things really come back in a big way.
Jaymee Sire:
Well, speaking to which you're certainly doing your part as well. You started the Garces Foundation that provides services and education for Philadelphia's most underserved populations. What has that work meant to you and your career, your legacy?
Jose Garces:
That's been very, very gratifying work. This community, it's mostly restaurant workers, construction workers, folks. There's a few pockets of Philly where they just don't have access to health benefits or we also, one of our programs is an EREL program, which is just a literacy program through job training. And so all that work, you look around, it feels like necessary people need help. And so I think it's been really gratifying. We have a small board, a pretty big budget, and it's every year it's okay, how do we get there? But we're 11 years into it. Yes. I think I'm hopeful that we can take our programs nationally at one point. That's kind of the goal.
Jaymee Sire:
That'd be amazing. What would you tell young, fresh-faced Jose, who was right out of culinary school back in the late nineties about what was in store for him?
Jose Garces:
Oh, wow. You know what, Jamie, nobody's ever asked me that question. It's a good one. I might have to sit down with young Jose and have a deep conversation about a lot of things. Yeah, I mean, you got me on that one. I think it would be a very heartfelt, sincere, maybe over a big dinner and maybe a bottle of wine or two. I don't know.
Jaymee Sire:
I think a couple at least. Yeah.
Jose Garces:
And I think what I would tell young Jose is to be mindful and present. Be more aware. Be conscious of your actions and what you do and your words. Just kind of more on the mindfulness things, because when I think about my early years, my twenties and even thirties, I was actually, it's funny. I was thinking about, I was just walking around unconscious, just doing, not really.
Jaymee Sire:
Not a care in the world.
Jose Garces:
I think I'd start there and then get into the other details with a finer, a finer tooth comb later on.
Jaymee Sire:
When we come back, Jose gives his tips for cooking competitively and later reveals if he'd ever rematch Bobby Flay. So stick around. We touched on TOC and Iron Chef, also Guy's Grocery Games, and the latest Bobby's Triple Threat. What got you into competition in the first place?
Jose Garces:
Wow. Well, I was an athlete growing up. I was a football player and a wrestler, and I did that throughout my formative years. And I don't know, there's something about it, and it carries over into cooking from the get go. We spoke earlier about culinary school, and the first day of class or second day of class, we're asked to produce something, and then all of a sudden it's like we're running around the kitchen. Everyone's trying to do their best. And then you get into the business world and it becomes competitive. Who's tapas are better than the other, who's Latin food? And it just continues. And I think it's societal, I think it's cultural, but at the core, the core, I love to compete. I'm a competitor, and it's great, and it's so much fun doing it on a platform or in cooking. It's fun to compete in other things, but as it relates to my craft and what I do, it clicks right in for me.
Jaymee Sire:
And I think the newest iteration of these competition shows with Bobby's Triple Threat is super interesting to me just because it is like this gauntlet that you kind of have to go through to get to the end of the show, essentially. What was it like going up against Bobby's culinary titans on Triple Threat, and who made you the most nervous?
Jose Garces:
Well, Jamie, the way I look at it is I made them the most nervous.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah, there you go. That's why you're so good. That's the mindset you bring into it, right?
Jose Garces:
Yeah. I think they all had their own different styles, which I appreciate. And at the end of the day, cooking competitions and the way they've developed formatting, it's, I mean, there's just a lot of creativity going on right now in terms of what kind of positions can we put these chefs in and let's see if they can get their way out of it. And so it does feel like there is a lot of, there's more like twists and turns and a little more just strategy that needs to be involved. The titans, they were great. They were great to compete against, and I think they all have their own unique styles. So I think the thing to do though is when you're cooking competitively, is just stick to your, don't try to match, because you'll probably lose points in that. So always, my strategy is do my food the best that I can do it, and yeah, hope for a good outcome.
Jaymee Sire:
Do you tend to play it safe and just like you say, cook what you know and love? Or do you take those calculated risks when you're under pressure like that?
Jose Garces:
I think that it's usually ingredient or task-based where you might have to take a more calculated risk. And here's the thing about, I would say competition is sometimes it's about whose dish is the most creative and who's the best, who really went outside and really executed the right way. Sometimes the challenge is so hard, it's about who makes the least amount of mistakes, right? So if you're in a battle where both chefs are kind of struggling to figure out, okay, what is then, and that's hard, that's unknown to one or the other chefs, but if you have that, then you're just really, the safe play is okay. If you have, let's say, if you have a really random odd ingredient that both chefs are not in their wheelhouse, then yeah, you just want to apply the cooking techniques that you feel you can execute on.
Jaymee Sire:
And on that note, I mean, how do you weave what we talked about earlier, your Ecuadorian roots, those influences from your heritage into your dishes, and why is that important in a competition like that?
Jose Garces:
Well, I think the thing that I can bring is that Latin heritage, Latin kind of inspirations, and I find that a lot of the competitors aren't in that category. So right away, it helps me stand out a little bit from a flavor profile. And what I'll do though is I may throw in some Asian inspirations, or I may throw some European inspirations to it and kind of do a hybrid mix of the two. That's really representative of my cooking style. Since I was French, classically trained, I have those roots are deep rooted, and then the layers of inspirations come on top of that. And so that's my secret guys. Don't tell anybody else.
Jaymee Sire:
Don't tell anybody. The titans. If you're listening, if you could create one dish without any other outside rules or stipulations that really tells your story as a chef, what would that dish be?
Jose Garces:
Oh, that's a good one. And I think for me, what's deep rooted is I love Spanish paellas and I've, I've made some on cooking competitions. I've made some for my friends family, I make 'em in the restaurants. I just think there's something special about one, the rice, the vehicle that carries all the ingredients. I like that It's also versatile. It has a lot of versatility in terms of how you feel, and it has a lot of deep rooted flavor in the stocker broth that you cook the rice in. And I just think it's also a bit of a melting pot. You can have seafood, beef, veggies, bread, starches, aioli. It just has a lot of different textures. So yeah, I would say that kind of represents me pretty well,
Jaymee Sire:
I think so. I think that makes a lot of sense. Speaking of triple therapy, Bobby's a big paer guy as well, and I know you've competed against him on Iron Chef, also on Beat Bobby Flay. Would there ever be another rematch in the works between you two?
Jose Garces:
I would love to rematch him and battle paella, because we did that on beat Bobby Flay, and he didn't actually make a paella. He made a risotto and then plated it. I made a paella. They got me my sucker ot, which was, I literally just had to let the rice burn at first a second.
Jaymee Sire:
Just to get it crispy.
Jose Garces:
Just to get it crispy. So yeah, I would challenge Bobby Battle paella. One more time.
Jaymee Sire:
All right, Bobby, if you're listening, Jose is putting you on the spot. Paellas put it down on the books. This has been so fun catching up with you and chatting. We're going to finish things off with a little rapid fire, and then we have one final question that we ask everybody here on the podcast.
Jose Garces:
Sounds good.
Jaymee Sire:
Alright. Rapid fire round. You get to pick one thing from your spice cabinet. What is it?
Jose Garces:
Smoke paprika.
Jaymee Sire:
Ooh, good one. You have an idea for a new restaurant. What is the first thing you do?
Jose Garces:
Travel to a destination. An inspiration destination.
Jaymee Sire:
All right. If I weren't a chef, I'd be blank. What?
Jose Garces:
I'd be a lobster fisherman.
Jaymee Sire:
I love that. Where? Anywhere in particular?
Jose Garces:
Off the coast of Maine.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah, of course. That's where you got to go for that.
Jose Garces:
I might be heading there anyway, guys, at some point.
Jaymee Sire:
Well, we love that. We love Maine. Your favorite day off thing to do in Philly.
Jose Garces:
Favorite day off thing to do is, people may not know this. I do enjoy the game of golf. So four hours outside, swinging the club mindlessly. Feels pretty good to me.
Jaymee Sire:
What's your handicap?
Jose Garces:
My handicap? I'm like a 19. Okay. Yeah. Still work in progress. But yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about my game this year. Things are progressing.
Jaymee Sire:
Alright. Best place to get a cheesesteak in Philly.
Jose Garces:
Well, the best place to get a cheesesteak in about one month is going to be at the Wells Fargo Stadium. Wells Fargo Stadium, because I have a stand there called Garces Eats. And at Garces Eats, I was challenged to create elevated stadium food. Jose, give us a menu with your best at Elevated stadium food, a menu that rotates. So last week I made a Wagyu beef cheesesteak with caramelized onions, truffled, provolone fondue. You got to go get it there.
Jaymee Sire:
Wow. Yeah we’re going there. That sounds like a flavor bomb. I love that. Boom.
Jose Garces:
Yes.
Jaymee Sire:
And also catch a game while you're at it. So that's a catch. Perfect, perfect combo. If you could create your own ice cream flavor, what would it be?
Jose Garces:
Well, I am a traditionalist. I love a good strawberry ice cream. But local, maybe pasteurized, I'm not sure. The milk needs to be creamy. If you have high quality milk, obviously you're going to get a better quality ice cream. Fresh strawberries. Really? That's the strawberry ice cream. I want rich creamy with nice pops of fresh fruit.
Jaymee Sire:
That sounds super refreshing. The most important career lesson that you've learned.
Jose Garces:
Oh, most important career lesson. Don't get in front of your skis. Yeah, don't put the cart before the horse. All of these cliches just, I think for me, it really, with success breeds opportunity, but not all. That opportunity is always good. So you have to take your time and really weigh and measure any decisions going forward.
Jaymee Sire:
All right, I like that. All right. Our last question is not rapid fire. You can take as long as you want on this one, and it's a very simple question, but what would be on the menu for your perfect food day? So we're talking, take us through breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. If you're a dessert guy, there's no rules. So you can travel, time travel, spend as much money as you want. Anybody can cook these meals alive or dead. There's no rules. It's your day.
Jose Garces:
Oh, wow, Jaymee. Wow. You're going there. Yeah. So to me, recently, in terms of health, I've been doing some intermittent fasting, and that feels good for me. So I eat on an eight hour window from 11 to 7 these days. And that, again, for my body, it's been great. So my first meal usually starts at noon, which is great, which is flexible. Then it could either be breakfast or lunch.
Jaymee Sire:
There you go.
Jose Garces:
So my ultimate breakfast is, honestly, to me, I just love a three egg smoked sausage, smoked bacon hash browns. Honestly, I'm pretty happy with that. I'm simple.
Jaymee Sire:
It sounds perfect.
Jose Garces:
Yeah. Right. And then, so the mornings usually is some sort of exercise, walk, a hike, a yoga, whatever, so that I start my day and then usually no snacks lately. So again, I'm going in real time here. My favorite dinner favorite kind of in a health-oriented way is just great sushi, like amazing. So I would do, gosh, I mean, there's a place called QBI Sushi in Tokyo, where I had one of my most memorable sushi counter experiences. And that to me is the cleanest, it's the most rich and satisfying experience you could have when a sushi chef pulling the rice out, and it's nice and warm. It's got the vinegar, and you've got the highest quality fish going right on top. I don't need much else that does it for me. Guilty pleasure. So if I'm breaking my fast, I'm having a late night, I might have some pizza at the end. So I'm a Chicago guy. I actually really like tavern style pizza. So there's a place in Chicago called Vito and Nick's and that might be the late night spot and just have, so I've have.
Jaymee Sire:
What kind of pizza? What kind of toppings ?
Jose Garces:
For me, I'm an Italian sausage, hand ripped sausage and mushroom guy. I get both of those things. I'm pretty good. And I've actually, I've been anti pepperoni lately. Lately. I feel like every pizza is now, when you order pepperoni, it's all pepperoni. It's like the whole thing. It's like, guys, I want to be able to taste the sauce, the cheese. So anyway, that's where I'm at with pies.
Jaymee Sire:
All right. Well, it sounds like a perfect food day. Mostly clean food day as well. But no, it sounds delicious. And once again, thank you so much for taking the time.
Jose Garces:
Awesome, Jaymee. Thank you for having me. It's so much fun.
Jaymee Sire:
You can catch Jose on the latest episode of Bobby's Triple Threat on Tuesday, September 12th at 9:00 PM Eastern. Make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoy today's episode, please rate and review. We love it when you do that. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies after a short break. Once again, we'll be back with new episodes September 29th.