Cuchillos Abajo

February 13, 2015 5:51 AM

Carlos Llaguno Garcia, the Mexican born chef who rose from being an undocumented immigrant to executive chef at Les Halles, has died of cancer. He was 38. Carlos gained some minor television fame when he took his former mentor, Anthony Bourdain, on a tour of Puebla and Mexico City for No Reservations, and also appeared in his role as the restaurant's executive chef when Bourdain and chef Eric Ripert went back to work in the Les Halles kitchen for the show.
posted by BZArcher (14 comments total)

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posted by Renoroc at 5:57 AM on February 13, 2015

Tragic. Such a talented and humble guy.

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posted by Purposeful Grimace at 6:01 AM on February 13, 2015

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I remember him on the Puebla episode of No Reservations.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 6:10 AM on February 13, 2015

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posted by mrgroweler at 6:16 AM on February 13, 2015

That Les Halles episode really took me back to working a line. Stepping into a kitchen that works together every day would be very hard, and that kitchen looked like it had a crew that could make things happen. That's no accident, and was a direct reflection of how good Garcia had to be at his job.

He will be missed by many, and it is very sad that he was so young.

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posted by dglynn at 6:24 AM on February 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

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chef who rose from being an undocumented immigrant to executive chef at Les Halles

It doesn't always work perfectly, but this is exactly why I love the meritocracy of kitchens. Can you hold your shit together on the line? It's all anyone cares about.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:27 AM on February 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

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posted by valkane at 6:47 AM on February 13, 2015

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posted by Novus at 7:07 AM on February 13, 2015

I had a late dinner at his restaurant and saw him outside on the patio enjoying a glass of wine. IIRC the duck confit and truffled potatoes were delicious.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:19 AM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

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posted by pt68 at 7:35 AM on February 13, 2015

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posted by aught at 8:06 AM on February 13, 2015

I loved that Puebla episode -- I was particularly interested because our thriving, relatively recent Mexican community in Philadelphia is almost entirely from Puebla. Also, I appreciated how Mr. Bourdain gave Chef Garcia props for Les Halles.

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posted by desuetude at 9:32 AM on February 13, 2015

What an inspiration. Descanse en paz.
posted by cobain_angel at 9:33 AM on February 13, 2015

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posted by oceanjesse at 4:30 PM on February 13, 2015