The Venetian Las Vegas added a new face to their celebrity chef wall as they welcomed Chef Lorena Garcia to the restaurant family on Wednesday Feb. 15 (Photo © Erik Kabik / www.ErikKabik.com).
Chef Lorena, credited as the first Latina celebrity chef on the Las Vegas Strip, is in town in advance of the spring 2017 opening of Chica, a new restaurant featuring the robust and vibrant flavors of Latin cuisine combined with a dynamic wine and mixology program.

Photo © Erik Kabik / www.ErikKabik.com.
The reception took place outside, adjacent to The Venetian porte cochere, in front of the 21-foot-tall celebrity chef wall that now features Chef Lorena Garcia with culinary greats Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller, Mario Batali, Buddy ‘Cake Boss’ Valastro and Emeril Lagasse.
Guests enjoyed a toast led by George Markantonis, president and chief operating officer at The Venetian, The Palazzo and Sands Expo.
Chef Lorena Garcia shared, “Today has marked a tremendous milestone in my career. I am so honored to be featured on the Culinary Titans wall at Venetian Las Vegas among legendary chefs that have inspired me throughout my entire career. Today truly has been such a memorable day for me and I am so excited to be joining the Venetian family with Chica very soon!”
Born in Venezuela, Garcia is a leading chef in North America and Latin America, well known for numerous TV series and a successful chain of restaurants. On the heels of the success of her first cookbook, Lorena Garcia’s New Latin Classics, the chef has taken her love of cooking to the next level by creating the Lorena Bella Kitchen Collection for HSN.
Chica is the newest concept from John Kunkel’s 50 Eggs Inc., who also created The Venetian’s award-winning Yardbird Southern Table & Bar.