11 July 4-10, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | Ciao Chow! Miami chef wins Season 2 of Food Network’s Ciao House. BY RACHEL COSTA N ot too long ago, Miami native Ivan Barros accomplished one of his lifelong dreams of be- coming an executive chef in Miami when he returned to Miami as the new executive chef of Amara at Paraiso alongside award-winning chef Mi- chael Schwartz. On June 23, Barros accom- plished one more dream by winning the second season of Food Network’s Ciao House. In Tuscany, the epicenter of Italian cui- sine, Barros competed against 11 other lauded chefs with whom he had to live and cook in a Tuscan villa while being judged by Food Net- work hosts Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabe Bertaccini. Throughout the program, contes- tants learned from renowned master chefs across Italy and were tested on their mastery of Italian cuisine. The last chef standing, which was Barros, was named the “Capo di Casa,” which trans- lates to “Head of the House.” But how exactly did the rising Miami chef get here? Barros’ journey to win the show began when he was living in Los An- geles in 2023. While preparing for the show, he serendipitously secured his spot as Amara’s new executive chef. Barros recalls getting his dream job at Amara at Paraiso in Edgewater and in less than 24 hours being on a plane to It- aly to start filming the show. Somehow, the tal- ented and determined chef was able to make it all work. “From the moment I arrived in Italy I was locked in,” Barros tells New Times. “It def- initely requires a lot of mental toughness I’d say, and a lot of composure because you’re be- ing filmed almost 24/7. I’ve always kind of shied away from doing things like this, but here we are. Honestly, I wanted to prove to myself that I can actually cook, that maybe I can win something. I mean, at the very least it was a free trip to Italy, which sounded pretty awesome.” Although the chef admits to being shy, this wasn’t his first taste of TV: He appeared in one episode of a Cooking Channel series and was eliminated. He remembers getting emo- tional while talking to his parents on the drive home but says his parents believed in him de- spite the defeat and were keen on not allow- ing him to doubt his skills. That, he says, is what eventually led him to Ciao House. Getting to the Finals of Ciao House and Competing Against Top Chefs Going into this new challenge on Ciao House, Barros recalled not having the confidence to say he would win it all, but he also never thought he would lose. As the competition went by and as he was inching closer to the fi- nals, he won the last cooking challenge with Austin Cobb, eliminating chefs Stikxz Wil- liams and Phuoc Vo. “Whoa, now this is real, I can actually win. All right, it’s time to turn it up a little bit,” re- calls Barros of the moment he realized he had a high chance of winning. Barros says that’s what was running through his mind the moment they announced he made it to the finals. “Any- thing you do in life there’s always the question, ‘Am I good enough? Is this good enough?’ Mak- ing it to the final two was just sheer excitement of validation. Throughout the season, I got a lot of high praise for the dishes I had a hand in, so, I’ve gained more confidence in myself, and making it to the final was kind of the seal of ap- proval, like, I belong here with everybody else.” Barros went from competing with Cobb to competing against him, and although winning was one of his goals, competing against the best was even more important to him, and to Barros that was Cobb. The two faced-off with Zev Bennett, who came back as a competitor in the finale after winning a shot at redemption. “It was just the three of us in the kitchen, but you would think there were 20 people,” he says reflecting on that day with nostalgia. “It was so chaotic. I had this whole dish planned out in my head, but time flew by so I had to pivot. I might have sweated entirely through my shirt, and I might’ve burned my hand a lit- tle bit, and I think I put something to the side and it fell. It was just crazy.” Despite the chaos, he still managed to rise above and hone in on what the chefs had been learning throughout the entire season: simplicity and paying hom- age to the ingredients. “I feel like that lends it- self to the entire trip of Italy, just focusing on certain things and not trying to do too much,” he says. “It definitely paid off, but that dish was insane, I remember like it was yesterday.” His Perseverance and Faith in Himself Empowered Him Despite All Odds Although Barros didn’t win every challenge presented to him in Season 2 of the series, he tells New Times he kept pushing himself through every obstacle with this mentality: “The job is not done yet.” Therefore, his biggest driving force was himself. “First and foremost, I did it for myself,” he explains. “I’ve sacrificed so much in this ca- reer, as so many chefs all over the world do. We have 12- to 16-hour days, seven days a week. Every day all you do is come home, shower, sleep, wake up, and go to work. You work from the moment the sun rises to the moment the sun sets, you’re in the kitchen 24/7. You do it [cooking in a kitchen] when you’re excited, you do it when you’re misera- ble. You do it when you’re happy, you do it when you’re sad. At the end of the day, you still have to do it if you really love it.” Behind him are the people who have al- ways supported his career. “I did it for myself but also for my girlfriend, for my family. My parents who supported me all the time, my father who’s an unprofessional chef and lives vicariously through me, he’s so proud and he’s so happy. As my parents watch the show, they’re super excited, concerned, and in- volved. I did it for Miami, for my city.” Being named “Capo di Casa” right before returning home to become the executive chef of Amara at Paraiso gave Barros a boost of confidence. Now, his focus is to breathe some new life into the restaurant with Schwartz. “I don’t know what will happen after the episode airs,” he admits. “So far, I’ve been em- braced very nicely by so many people online, which is amazing so I’m just super excited. I’m just ready to receive whatever’s coming my way, I busted my hump. I hope it opens the doors to more things, I hope more people realize that I’m the chef at Amara, and I hope more people come to Amara. I feel like now the sky’s the limit.” [email protected] ▼ Café Food Network photo Chef Ivan Barros cooking on Food Network’s Ciao House “I’M JUST READY TO RECEIVE WHATEVER’S COMING MY WAY, I BUSTED MY HUMP.”
