SOBEWFF: Chica's Lorena Garcia Leads the Female Charge in Miami and Beyond

Lorena Garcia, the venerable, Venezuelan-born executive chef of Chica (in Miami, Las Vegas, and Aspen), will cohost the Casa Del Sol Tequila dinner at this year's South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), along with actress Eva Longoria Bastón and chefs Nikki Martin and Jeremy Shelton.

Garcia will prepare a decadent Latin-flavored menu to complement the sipping tequila made by the company Longoria founded.

Latin flavors and a woman-owned company: It's a story that echoes Garcia's own passion.

Best known for her appearances on Top Chef Masters, America’s Next Great Restaurant, and Univision’s Despierta America, Garcia has focused her career on delivering the vibrant flavors of Latin cooking to a global audience.

More recently, however, she has also found meaning in providing opportunities to other women chefs, through Chica in particular.

"Chica has always been female-driven," Garcia tells New Times. "It's a nod to my own passion — I've always been known as the fearless chica latina leading the charge in Latin cuisine."

Garcia made history when she partnered with the 50 Eggs Hospitality Group to open Chica at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas in 2017. While nearly 4,000 restaurants call the Las Vegas Strip home, only a handful are owned by women — and even fewer by Latinas. Woman-operated establishments include Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken's Border Grill at the Mandalay Bay and bubbly Giada De Laurentiis' eponymous Giada in the Cromwell.

"When we opened in Las Vegas and I realized I was the only female on the property, alongside just a handful of ladies that own restaurants on the Strip, it was very shocking to me," Garcia says. "With this awareness, I jumped at the opportunity to create as many opportunities for women through my restaurants as I could. These days, women are empowered. Now, it's about providing opportunities in what is still a largely male-dominated industry."

Today, Garcia says she feels the traits that make her a unique female force in the industry are what have helped to make Chica successful, as well.

Though the brand is expanding, Garcia's dedication to empowering women can be seen at each of her restaurants, where she offers executive-level roles for female employees and over 50 percent of her workforce is made up of female chefs.

"I want to create an environment where women can not only work in these top-level positions but also find opportunities to be mentored and grow in their field," Garcia says. "I'm so happy to be able to do that. It's truly a blessing."

As with her establishments, the menu at the SOBEWFF dinner will be a celebration of Latin flavors, with influences from Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Popular Chica menu items will make appearances, from Garcia's Wagyu empanadas with a guajillo-chili consommé and shredded duck carnitas arepas to the "Marquesa de Chocolate," espresso-soaked graham crackers layered with chocolate mousse and Colombian coffee ice cream for a sort of Venezuelan tiramisu.

The final dish: her grandmother's recipe for asado negro, or Venezuelan braised short rib. Offering both sour and sweet notes, savory meat simmers into an unctuous sauce of carmelized peppers and onions with a vinegary tang of Worcestershire sauce, served over a huancaína mash.

"These dishes just scream my culture and the way I grew up, presented in an elevated way," says Garcia. "It's the perfect way to celebrate this festival dinner — and these women."

Casa Del Sol Tequila Dinner hosted by Eva Longoria Bastón, Lorena Garcia, Nikki Martin, and Jeremy Shelton. 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, February 25, at Verde at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; sobewff.org. Tickets are sold out.