Carlos Garcia
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Chef Carlos García attended and graduated from the Hofmann School of Hospitality in Barcelona, Spain. Co-owner of Alto (located in the Venezuelan capital) since 2007, García completed several internships in multiple renowned restaurants, including El Bulli, El Celler de Can Roca and Mugaritz, one of the most celebrated and internationally recognized Basque restaurants in San Sebastián. From 2003 through 2007, García was the chef at Malabar restaurant in Caracas, where he achieved noteworthy awards for his international creative cuisine. When the prestigious “The World’s 50 Best” list premiered its Latin American chapter in 2013, Alto won The Best Restaurant in Venezuela, earning the 25th spot; it has been awarded The Best Restaurant in Venezuela for four consecutive years. Today, Alto still thrives as the best restaurant of its kind in Venezuela.
In 2014, García joined the project “Food for Soul”, founded by award-winning chef Massimo Bottura in the Ambrosiano Refettorio in Milan. García also participated in the twelfth edition of Identità Golose Milano in 2016. In August of that same year, he received a call from Bottura to join the brigade of cooks of Refettorio Gastromotiva, which was taking place during the Olympics that year in Brazil.
Throughout the years, García has emerged as one of the most outstanding chefs in Latin America. In the fall of 2017, García opened Obra Kitchen Table in Miami’s downtown Brickell neighborhood. This Latin American concept with international influences offered homemade dishes with flavors from Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico. After shuttering Obra’s doors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Garcia took time to regroup with his family before joining the China Grill Management culinary team and Leku at Rubell Musuem, where he now leads the Michelin-recognized restaurant with the assistance of talented team members. China Grill Management and Garcia also have extensive contacts with the best restaurants in the Basque region, and will be making several trips in the coming year to further enhance and build upon Leku’s Basque heritage.
