jose garces

When all the ribs and racks of meats were prepared to perfection, Philadelphia chef Jose Garces, known for his Latin flavors, emerged victorious from Sunday's season finale of 'The Next Iron Chef.'

Garces beat runner-up Jehangir Mehta, a New York chef flashy in his personality and inclined towards Indian food. While for millions of Americans backyard ribs may sound easy, for these perfectionist chefs, when this red meat mainstay was announced on Sunday's finale, a blast of anxiety shot through the room. Garces opted for carnitas tacos (slow cooking his meat with cloves and beer), buffalo steak tartare and buffalo rib steak cooked au poivre, all fairly safe dishes. Garces said he drew on his Chicago background for the "American melting pot" theme of the show.