Chefs Face Off

Tony Garcia of Avanzare and Nicola Gilardi of Gilardi’s Ristorante go head-to-head in a battle of chefs’ wits. Find out who has the best scar stories, who has endured the biggest free-meal disaster and who is best at sprucing up a run-of-the-mill meal.

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Full Name: Juan Antonio Garcia

Age: 29

Where were you born? Guadalajara, Mexico

Scars? “Left shoulder, 14 years old. Fell off a horse. “I thought I was a pretty good horse rider, but I guess I wasn’t.” A few on the face, “I guess I wasn’t too quick. I used to be a fighter. I don’t want to say much.”

Tattoos? “None.”

If you got a tattoo, what would it be? “Maybe one on the arm. Something a little crazy. I don’t know what.”

Favorite music? “A little hip-hop.”

Favorite song right now? "I need to think of one that doesn’t cuss too much. ‘Ain’t No Other Man,’ Christina Aguilera.”

Who cuts your hair? Brandon Wood at Finishing Touch

What do you call your hairdo? I go short on the edges, then long on top. It doesn’t really have a name.

Most food you’ve had to comp? “One of my servers dropped a little container of balsamic vinegar on the plate, and it splashed on the whole table, like 10 people. So think about people with suits and white shirts. You can’t fix anything. I gave them the meal and gave them my phone number and said, “Call me if you guys need to go shopping. It would give me a reason to go shopping, too, I guess.” What else was I going to say? I was pretty embarrassed. [...] They never called me to go shopping, but they came over to the restaurant. I think it was their anniversary, too. But that was their first time there, and they’re still coming back.”

Fancy-up a hamburger: “Take small pieces of filet and rib eye and ground it up. Put in a lot of seasoning. Rosemary, thyme, sage. Grill to temperature, sauté onions and mushrooms, maybe a little jalapeno juice to make it a little spicy. No cheese. Just like that. “

Exercise? “I work out in my house. I’ve got a speed bag and a punching bag. I used to do it every morning. Now I do it maybe twice a week.”

Did you ever cheat in school? “Everybody cheats in school. I had a test. One girl wrote all the stuff on a paper between us. I just copied it. I was 11 or 12 I think. But I got caught. We had exactly the same tests with all the same mistakes.”

What languages do you speak? “Spanish and a little bit of English.”

Favorite drink right now? “A dry martini, extra dirty. And tequila.

You’ve got an Italian restaurant. Do you ever miss cooking Mexican food? “I enjoy Italian food. I can cook Mexican food anytime at the house for my family. But I’ve always cooked Italian food, so it has always been easier for me. Two of my uncles are chefs in Italian restaurants and all of my family worked in Italian restaurants. That’s how I got into it.”

Sit-ups in 30 seconds: 26

Read Nicola's answers on the next page.

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