#186 - Chef Jose Garces - Iron Chef, James Beard Winner & Restaurant Empire Builder on Beating Bobby Flay, & Scaling Culture 🍳🏆

Chef Jose Garces - Iron Chef, James Beard Winner & Restaurant Empire Builder on Beating Bobby Flay, & Scaling Culture 🍳🏆He beat Bobby Flay on national TV. He built a 25-restaurant empire. He's a James Beard Award winner and Iron Chef.But the biggest lesson? It came from watching his mom cook dinner after a factory shift — tired, organized, and making it happen anyway.What You'll Learn:The leadership lessons he learned watching his Ecuadorian mom run the home kitchenHow getting fired from his first chef job became his biggest breakthroughWhat it's like to cook under extreme pressure on Iron Chef AmericaThe moment he almost lost it all — cutting his finger mid-battle, blood everywhere, 45 minutes leftHow to scale culture across 25 restaurants without losing your soulWhy he took a $12/hour line cook job after 10 years in the industryThe wellness shift in his 50s that made him a better leader, dad, and partnerPower Quote: "There are no failures. It's just a function of learning and growing." — Chef Jose GarcesTimestamps:🍳 0:00 - Introduction👨‍👩‍👦 3:00 - Leadership lessons from his mom's kitchen🤼 6:30 - What wrestling taught him about competition and grit💼 10:00 - Working since age 8 and the entrepreneurial mindset🔥 14:30 - Getting fired and taking a $12/hour job to learn from the best🏆 20:00 - Opening Amada and betting everything on Spanish tapas in Philly⚔️ 26:00 - Beating Bobby Flay and becoming an Iron Chef🩸 32:00 - The Indian cuisine battle — cutting his finger, blood won't stop, 45 minutes left📈 36:00 - Scaling culture across 25 restaurants🧘 40:00 - The wellness shift: meditation, sauna, yoga, and Nordic skiing💡 45:00 - One lesson: Be aware and more lovingFeatured Platform: Cook Unity — Chef Garces' meals delivered nationwideConnect with Chef Jose Garces:Website: ChefGarces.comRestaurants: Amada, Volver, Buena Onda, Okatshe & moreCook Unity: Order Chef Garces meals nationwideGarces Foundation / Comida GarcesSubscribe for more conversations with elite performers who've overcome the odds.#ChefJoseGarces #IronChef #JamesBeard #Philadelphia #Amada #CookUnity #Leadership #BuiltNotBorn #Podcast #Restaurant #JoeCiccarone© Copyright - Joe Ciccarone 2026 - Built Not Born Podcast. All Rights Reserved.Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host.