News | Hearth ’61 Introduces New Executive Sous Chef Richard Garcia

Mountain Shadows is excited to announce that their signature restaurant Hearth ’61 in Paradise Valley, Arizona has a new culinary cultivator behind its stunning exhibition kitchen. Executive Sous Chef Richard Garcia is now cooking under Executive Chef Charles Wiley, who both previously worked together while re-opening Scottsdale’s Hotel Valley Ho in 2005.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Garcia spent most of his life in Santa Fe where he discovered his love for food at a young age. Garcia was inspired growing up meeting the chefs of the area’s best restaurants while making dairy deliveries with his grandfather.

Apart from his experience at Hotel Valley Ho, Garcia has an extensive cooking portfolio beginning with his first culinary gig at Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe in 1998. He graduated from Scottsdale Culinary Institute with an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts and later bounced around the Southwest, from Santa Fe’s Eldorado Hotel to Scottsdale’s Avalon, where he held his first position as sous chef. He then returned to Hotel Valley Ho as the sous chef at Trader Vic’s as he found Phoenix calling him back, and later worked at the hotel’s signature restaurant, ZuZu, first as chef de cuisine and then as executive sous chef. Before rising to this new role at Hearth ‘61, he joined Mountain Shadows in November 2017 as banquet chef.

Garcia is bringing the flames to the fire with his innovative cooking style and use of simple ingredients, elevating Hearth ’61’s plates that are delightful in simplicity. The restaurant is thrilled to have him grow within their team.