Remix: Master Chef Lorena Garcia Says It Takes More Than Sharp Knives

Latina to Latina

LWC Studios

Latinas, Lantiguawilliams, 519788, Aliciamenendez, Society & Culture, Latinos, Entrepreneurship, News, Hispanics, Entertainment News, Business

4.7 • 624 Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

She handed her law degree to her mother to thank her, and quit an elite Miami law firm on her first day. Then she headed to culinary school—in France. Might be easy to say the rest is history, but that’s not the case with this Venezuelan powerhouse and former Top Chef Masters star. From being told her accent would hold her back, to being discouraged from having her own television show, Lorena has never allowed other people’s limitations to hold her back. Now, as the head of a growing culinary empire, she looks back at the unconventional way she made it to the top. Follow Lorena on Twitter @lorenagarcia and on Instagram @cheflorena, @lorenagarciaculinaryloft and @chicarestaurants. If you loved this episode, listen to Fran Medina and Nicole Mejia. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Transcript

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0:00.0	so happy to share another specially curated batch of episodes featuring some of the inspiring women
0:05.5	we've had on the show.
0:10.5	I was never able to get representation. They told me your accent, Loren, I'm sorry, it's not
0:15.3	going to happen for you, and it will never happen for you. You know, without representation,
0:19.4	I was still able to have a cooking show,
0:21.8	men, I had endorsements, I had my restaurant, so that didn't stop me for doing what I was doing.
0:28.6	Lorena Garcia is everywhere. With the opening of her restaurant, Chica, she became the first
0:34.3	Latina executive chef on the Las Vegas strip.
0:43.8	She has airport spots in Dallas, Miami at Atlanta, multiple cookbooks, and a cookware line.
0:52.1	Lorena is often called a celebrity chef, but she insists that her success requires never straying too far from the kitchen.
0:56.3	I'm Alicia Menendez, and this is Latina to Latina.
1:07.7	Lorena, I love that I walked into this Miami studio, and I found you closing a deal on the couch on your cell phone. Do you ever stop?
1:10.8	No. That's funny, but true. It's one of
1:14.7	those things that no, you never stop. You're kind of connected 24 hours and you got to be on top of it.
1:20.5	Even when you have a team. Even when you have a team, yes. Okay. When was the last time you let someone
1:25.9	cook for you? Oh. Well, you know, it's funny that question because it's not that I let somebody cook for me. Let me put it to you this way. I mean, usually the dynamics in my house. I have my family and friends. We're coming over. This has happened plenty of time in which, you know, we're planning where to go and eat. They see me with poppy eyes.
1:44.9	Loretna, we're feeling that, you know, we really want to eat this. You know, many, plenty of
1:49.8	time they show up with the groceries and I end up in the kitchen. They're just lucky that I like
1:54.7	it as much as I do. So I'm like, okay, guys, probably would eat better anyway.
2:03.1	I've always wanted a doctor in my family, so I could just have someone to call and say, like, my kid has a rash, but a chef in the
2:09.5	family. My husband jokes that everything I cook has lemon, salt, and avocado, and that that's my way of saving any dish. Do you have ingredients
2:20.7	that you return to over and over? I think you name fat, you name an acid, you know, and you
	...

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