CHEF AARÓN SANCHEZ

Owner/Executive Chef of Centrico Restaurant

Food Network Personality

CHEF AARÓN SÁNCHEZ Executive Chef/Co-Owner of Centrico Restaurant

Food Network Star & Cookbook Author Award-Winning Chef

The co-star of Food Network’s hit series, Chefs vs. City, Aarón is the owner and executive chef of Centrico restaurant, located in New York City. He is also the culinary visionary behind Tacombi Tacqueria in New York City. Aaron’s first restaurant, Paladar, was New York’s premiere pan-latin restaurant for over 10 years. The son of celebrated Mexican cooking authority Zarela Martinez, Aarón’s passion, commitment and skills have placed him among the country’s leading contemporary Latin Chefs. Aarón began his career with the Food Network as co-host of Melting Pot, where he introduced a national audience to his technique and creativity with contemporary interpretations of classic Latino cuisine. Today Aarón stars on multiple Food Network shows

including: Chefs vs. City, Chopped, Best Thing I Ever Ate, Next Iron Chef, and more.

In February 2001, Aarón teamed up with Eamon Furlong to open Paladar, a pan-Latin inspiration on the Lower East Side. Funky but chic, Paladar incorporates the vibrant energy of the neighborhood with the relaxed intimacy and warmth of a Cuban Paladar. In its first year, Paladar won Time Out New York’s 2001 Award for Best New Lower East Side Restaurant and Best Latin American Restaurant in their 2002 Eating and Drinking Guide. In 2004, Aarón opened up Centrico with renowned restaurateur Drew Nieporent of the Myriad Restaurant Group (Nobu, Tribeca Grill, etc.). With the new restaurant, Aarón goes back to his roots to cook the Mexican food of his childhood with a fresh interpretation.

In 2005 Aarón was nominated as the “Rising Star Chef of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation. The same year he was named one of People Magazine and People En Espanol’s (the country’s #1 Latin Magazine) 50 Most Beautiful People. Aarón is a restaurateur, television personality, consultant, spokesperson and author. His first book, La Comida del Barrio, was published in May 2003. His next book, Kitchen without Borders, is due out in 2010. Aarón makes international appearances conducting cooking demos and speaking engagements, where he shares his knowledge and passion for cooking and Latin cuisine/culture with thousands of admirers throughout the year. When he’s not in the kitchen or shooting his TV shows Aarón spends most of his time with his family, playing basketball and traveling the world exploring different and interesting cultures.

MarcusÕ Philosophy ÒBringing dinner backÉÓ

�  Executive Chef & Owner of Paladar, Centrico and Senor Tacombi Taqueria�  Co-Star of Food NetworkÕs ÒChefs vs. CityÓ �  Judge on Food NetworkÕs ÒChoppedÓ �  Co-Star of Food NetworkÕs ÒBest Thing I Ever AteÓ�  Spokesperson for T-MobileÕs MyTouch�  Spokesperson for Wal-MartÕs Holiday Foods Basket �  Author of La Comida Del Barrio �  Releasing his second cookbook, Kitchen without Borders, in Fall 2010 �  Graduate of Johnson & Wales University

Aar—n S‡nchez��

The SAVEUR Chef SeriesAARÓN SÁNCHEZ was cooking Mexican food before he could read. As a young boy in the border town of El Paso, Texas, he would help his mother—the legendary culinary authority Zarela Martinez—in the kitchen, and the experience never left him. This inspired

Paladar, his pioneering restaurant on New York’s Lower East Side, and later at Centrico, his modern homage to

Chefs vs. City, Sánchez now plans to open a taco truck. His

is surely paving his own way.

city, I have breakfast at La Cardinal, right outside the Zócalo. It’s this baroque place where you get old-school breakfasts like chilaquiles (tortillas soaked in sauce and topped with egg) and enchiladas with chicken and red chiles. If I’m in the Yucatán, I go to a traditional Mayan taquería for tacos de guisado, corn tortillas topped with things like stewed meats, liver and onions, or eggs and wild spinach.

With the cold weather comes substantial foods like rich moles, green posole packed with pork shoulder or pigs’ feet, and carne con chile colorado (pork braised with tasty, mild chiles and garlic), which I grew up eating in the North. Since Mexico is a big country composed of 32 very different states, people may be eating winter fruits like quince and pomegranate in one area and mangoes dusted with chili powder in another.

I’m excited about so many Mexican ingredients, such as the vanilla from Papantla, in Veracruz, which I think is the best in the world, and the sapote negro, a fruit whose

quelites. I had a farmer growing a variety of these greens and herbs for me—things like hoja santa and chipil.

How do they eat quelitespapalo, an herb I’m especially crazy about, is often served as a garnish

chorizo (made with basil, spinach, and pistachios), topped with cactus, and served alongside sprigs of papalo—a delicious palate cleanser. There’s almost nothing to

one leaf.

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Citrus Queso SaladIngredients: 1 10-oz pkg Cacique® Queso Fresco – crumbled 1/2 cup cup Cacique® Cotija - crumbled 1/2 cup cup Jicama - diced small 1 small cucumber - diced 1/2 cup cup red onion - diced 2 medium tomatoes - chopped 1/2 cup cup cilantro (fresh) – chopped 1/2 cup chile of canned chipotle in adobo – finely chopped 1 lime juiced 1 tbsp olive oil Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste

Preparation:Mix first eight ingredients together and set aside. Whisk all wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Season with salt and pepper and add to Cacique® cheese mixture. Mix well and serve with tortilla chips.

For this recipe and many more,please go to www.CaciqueUSA.com

Former 'Iron Chef America' contestant Aaron Sanchez set for new

Food Network show 'Chefs vs. City'

BY Nicole CarterDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSunday, August 2nd 2009, 4:00 AM

Aaron Sanchez is one of New York's most

celebrated contemporary Latin chefs. He is

executive chef and owner of the NYC

restaurants Centrico and Paladar and has

made TV appearances on "Iron Chef

America" and "Chopped."

His latest venture is co-hosting the new

Food Network show "Chefs vs. City"

(premiering Friday), which each week

sends Sanchez and chef Chris Cosentino to

a new city to challenge local foodies in a

culinary race against time.

How is this show going to be different from other food shows?

It's kind of like a treasure hunt, which is really different from

anything else out there. We go to a different city every week

and challenge two foodies in each episode. The challenges

consist of us running from place to place, completing tasks

that are timed.

Aren't you - in a way - being set up to fail by competing

against locals?

The thing is, though, even if you're a local foodie, it's hard to

be familiar with everything in your city's food culture. I

wasn't intimidated but excited. It's great that I get to discover

new things about food around the country. And being a

competitive person, I was also excited to try to win as many

challenges as possible.In the first episode, the challenge is set

in New York.

With the season mostly filmed already, how did NYC compare?

New York City was the most challenging, but not because of the complex food culture,

which is obviously a big challenge in and of itself. It was harder in New York to just

literally get from place to place! Traffic, trains, you know.

Aaron Sanchez has been achef for 15 years.

But aren't you a local?

Yeah, it was a mixed bag. But the challenge was set up in a good way because some of

the places I knew, but some I didn't.

Your mom is chef and owner of Zarela in Manhattan. Did she introduce you to the

food world?

Absolutely. We moved here from El Paso in the '80s for my mom to start her career. She

was very experimental in the kitchen.

And I was a little, uh, incorrigible as a kid, so the kitchen was a good place to give me

structure and balance.

It taught me hard work, but then I grew to love it.

At home, we never really cooked Mexican food. She was always telling me that the city

has so much to offer in terms of diverse food, so we should try it. We ate everything from

bish to Chinese to Thai.

Any favorite places as a kid?

We used to go all the time to this Afghan restaurant on St. Marks Place called Khyber

Pass. It's still there. My mom was always interested in tasting new things, and it rubbed

off on me.

Were you inspired by any chefs?

When I was a teenager, I worked in New Orleans for a chef named Paul Prudhomme.

That was a very important time in my life as a chef. I developed my palate and learned a

lot. And here I am now. I specialize in modern Mexican and contemporary Latin cuisines.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/08/02/2009-08-

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how_.html?print=1&page=all#ixzz0PA29MyK0

100% Aarón Aarón Sánchez is the celebrated chef and co-owner of two of New York City’s most celebrated Latin American eateries, Paladar and Centrico. Shuttling between his restaurants and newest venture, NYC Tacombi, Aarón relies heavily on his myTouch to keep his restaurants running and his personal life humming. Sound of Inspiration“Cooking is an art form constantly needing inspiration. Music, especially from Mexico, inspires me. Mexican mariachi and ranchera music are my soul. They are the voice of Mexico and of my dishes. My myTouch houses my music so inspiration is always at my fingertips.“ Keeping It Fresh“When I’m at the farmer’s market, I’ll take photos of great stuff I see and e-mail them over to my chef; he’ll shoot me back a text telling me what he’d like me to get. Scrolling through those images also gives me fresh ideas for my menus.” Urban Scavenger Hunt“I’m always searching for things I need while I’m on the road — from hard-to-find ingre-dients to obscure cooking tools. With the Sherpa™ App, I locate things easily and don’t waste time running all over town.” Visit tmobile.com to go behind the scenes with Aarón.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS… A NEW IRON CHEF!

October 4, 2007

Eight Top U.S. Chefs to Compete for the Title of “The Next Iron Chef” on New Reality Series;

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – The title of Iron Chef is synonymous with the world’s foremost

culinary masters; and with the announcement of eight finalists, Food Network has begun

production for The Next Iron Chef, the newest reality competition

created to identify the next master to join the existing exclusive club

of superstar chefs Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Bobby Flay and Masaharu

Morimoto. Representing some of the nation’s best culinary talent,

the finalists will battle for the chance to be crowned the next Iron

Chef America. Hosted by Alton Brown (Good Eats, Iron Chef

America), The Next Iron Chef will premiere Sunday, October 7th at

9pm ET/PT on Food Network.

After an extensive coast-to-coast search for the most celebrated

culinary stars, Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming

and Production, Food Network, today announces the list of finalists.

“We have chosen a group of chefs who we believe to be at the

forefront of the culinary landscape, each of whom could stand

proudly beside Bobby, Mario, Morimoto and Cat as a new Iron Chef,” says Tuschman. “In our

quest, we are looking for an individual to complement the current group and bring a unique blend

of innovation, creativity and passion to the show, which is currently the highest-rated program on

the network.”

Each boasting years of culinary experience and numerous media accolades and awards from such

prestigious organizations as the James Beard Foundation, the eight competitors vying for the Iron

Chef title are:

• Aarón Sánchez (New York, NY) Executive Chef & Owner, Centrico and Paladar

• John Besh (New Orleans, LA) Executive Chef, Restaurant August, Besh Steak, Lüke and La

Provence.

• Chris Cosentino (San Francisco, CA) Executive Chef, Incanto

• Jill Davie (Santa Monica, CA) Executive Chef, JOSIE

• Traci Des Jardins (San Francisco, CA) Executive Chef & Co-Owner, Jardinière, Mijita and

Acme Chophouse

• Gavin Kaysen (San Diego, CA) Chef de Cuisine, El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn

• Morou Ouattara (Washington, DC) Executive Chef & Owner, Farrah Olivia

• Michael Symon (Cleveland, OH) Executive Chef & Owner, Lola and Lolita

Judging this fierce competition will be Michael Ruhlman (James Beard Award-winning author),

Andrew Knowlton (Editor of Bon Appétit magazine) and Donatella Arpaia (owner of acclaimed

New York City restaurant davidburke&donatella). Judges will narrow the field until the last chef

standing is deemed an Iron Chef and he or she will then take their place behind the counter in the

famed Kitchen Stadium to compete in the newest season of Iron Chef America.