LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Latinos are an integral part of our community: business owners, workers, families, 700,000 strong in Clark County.
But some contribute in multiple ways. We're introducing a leader, spokesperson, artist and mother, making her mark in Las Vegas and beyond.
13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears has been immersed in the local culinary scene for years. She takes us inside the Venetian for an intimate conversation with Chef Lorena Garcia.
LOVE FOR COOKING
Meeting Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia for the first time, you're immediately drawn in by her infectious smile and energy.
"I love to play with all the senses," says Garcia.
Her restaurant, Chica at the Venetian Las Vegas, is a celebration of Latin flavors you can also experience in Miami and Aspen.
"You sit on the table and you see this beautiful, amazing, flavorful cuisine that speaks to you. Not only your palate, but in your senses, your eyes," says Garcia.
Her love for cooking emerged at an early age.
"I was six years old and I did a picnic in the middle of the living room and I made arepas... Arepas are the little delicious corn biscuit that accompany our meals. It's almost like our bread, right? Our tortilla," says Garcia.
Garcia knows work in the food industry is never done and change is part of the game.
It's about experimenting and creating new recipes and experiences for everyone who sits down at the table. That means not only representing her native Venezuela, but all of Latin America.
"Peruvian cuisine that is such a rich, incredible and as important as Mexican cuisine. Venezuelan, of course, because I was born in Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina. You have such a beautiful representation and influences from all these countries," says Garcia.
Garcia says it all starts with the people; the cooks, servers, and managers, working together to make magic for everyone visiting Chica. And she's proud to say Latinos are not only prominent in her business, but in the industry as a whole.
"In every aspect of the restaurant business, the Latin community, I think is the one, is the backbone. You can go to a Japanese restaurant and see a Latin chef making food," says Garcia.
As a Latina, she believes it's important to give back.
"I feel very motivated to continue to create opportunities and opening the path for more female chefs to be in positions of leadership in the kitchen and in the restaurant as as a whole," says Garcia.
PASSION PROJECTS
Garcia serves as the official Ambassador for No Kid Hungry, working to end child hunger in America.
She's also created her own program, Big Chef Little Chef, teaching kids and parents the importance of healthy eating. As a mother Garcia feels teaching children how to cook is the best path to a healthy lifestyle.
"So when they grow up, they know how to eat. They know where the ingredients come from, and they know how to take control of their nutrition that goes beyond their diet. It reflects self-esteem. It reflects the way, their productivity. There is so much involved in nutrition," says Garcia.
In everything she does, from national cooking shows and books, to her restaurants, Garcia says it always comes back to being true to herself.
"The dish by itself is going to tell you so much of a story of not only where I come from or where have I been, but also the memories and the relationship that you nourish on the table," says Garcia.
At the same time, she always feels the responsibility to reflect her heritage and represent the Latino community.
"It's about respecting the culture, it's about understanding that we are so much more. There is a word in Español that is called toderos. We are toderos. We do everything. We specialize in filling in the blanks and when we are requested to do a task, we're there to do it. You know, we don't find excuses. We just get ready and do it. We're doers," says Garcia.
