"SABOR" is a food & wine and lifestyle series that savors Latinos' zest for life and passion for home and family.  

"'Lorena, what did you do?!' yelled Chef Lorena Garcia's mother when she discovered that her then 8-year-old daughter made arepas using P.A.N. for the first time for the family in Caracas, Venezuela.

 

Surrounded by an "arepa picnic" on the kitchen floor, the young and impressionable Chef Garcia recognized the impact of cooking for someone else, not to mention the lesson that it is preferable to eat at a table rather than the floor!

"I took water, a little bit of salt, and cornmeal, pre-cooked that is called P.A.N. (Productos Alimenticios Nacionales/National Food Products) and I put it all together and made a dough. I started making these little patties and cooked them over a griddle," a nostalgic Chef Garcia said as she reminisced of her youth. "She (her mother) screamed so high that I think the lobby could hear her! That was my first meal that was related to P.A.N."

Kids will be kids and that's the idea behind Chef Garcia's recent partnering with P.A.N so that parents and their children will learn the joy of cooking together while keeping traditions alive.

"I want people to cook at home with their children and the fact that it's gluten-free is a win-win situation," said Chef Garcia, who is also the creator of "Big Chef, Little Chef," a non-profit program that helps children and their families take control of their eating habits.

The Venezuelan-born restaurateur, TV personality/producer, author and philanthropist has teamed up with P.A.N., "the number one pre-cooked cornmeal brand in Venezuela, and the leading cornmeal product in Latin America."

P.A.N. was launched in Venezuela in 1960 by Empresas Polar and now offers three varieties of yellow corn, white corn, and sweet corn in the U.S. The company was enamored by Chef Garcia's Venezuelan roots, thus making her "the perfect ambassador as P.A.N. becomes available nationally."

"Let me tell you a little bit about what P.A.N. means to me as Lorena Garcia, Venezuelan-born. When we are talking about a brand, we don't even think that it's a brand. Everybody from the little ones to the oldest ones everybody uses P.A.N.," she said.

"Now in the United States, we have a huge advantage because it's a 100 percent certified gluten-free. I am extremely excited about it because imagine having your favorite ingredients that you and your mother and grandmother grew up with and being able to not only find it in the United States, but also being able to make all of these wonderful recipes."

Chef Garcia is cognizant of the increase in gluten allergies in children and adults in the U.S. and pointed out that it can also make people feel lethargic, therefore inspiring gluten-free diets.

Arepas are a "staple menu item for breakfast, lunch and dinner," she pointed out. There are also international recipes where you can use P.A.N. from French crepes to corn and almond cakes from Italy.

"It's versatile, it's pre-cooked and it allows you to cook with corn, which is a widely-known ingredient in the Unites States," she added. "You make it with your grits, cornbread and banana bread -- even corndogs, but also in Latin America where you make your tortillas, tamales and arepas. Again, the versatility is so widely known."

Exhilarated by the success of her first cookbook, "Lorena Garcia's New Latin Classics," Chef Garcia took her passion for cooking to another level and launched the "Lorena Bella Kitchen Collection" for HSN.

From griddles to sauté pans, etc., Chef Garcia says her "5-star" customer-rated collection is "a testament to quality at a good price point," she said.

She recalled one day walking onto the set of HSN and seeing her chef, who she introduced to arepas, cooking up a bunch of arepas with the crew.

To her surprise, Chef Garcia said: "Are you kidding me! All of these gringos making arepas, I love it!"

Also the consultant for HSM Host's proprietary brands, Chef Garcia works with other top celebrity chefs including, Rick Bayless, Todd English, Wolfgang Puck, Kathy Casey and David Burke.

Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela Chef Garcia relished in family gatherings with good food in great company. At the time, she didn't realize that this exposure would later make her cook up a new plan for her life.

She went on to finish her associate degree and paralegal studies while learning English, but she soon realized her heart was really in the kitchen and not in court. So she enrolled at Johnson & Wales University where she earned a Bachelor's degree and an honorary doctorate degree, both in culinary arts.

Chef Garcia went on to work in Paris as an apprentice at the Ritz-Carlton and then tested her culinary skills throughout Italy, Japan, Korea, Thailand and China. Upon returning to the U.S., Chef Garcia spent three years under acclaimed chef Pascal Oudin at the Grand Bay Hotel as well as Jeffery Chodorow's China Grill and Red Square.

Having traveled extensively, Chef Garicia wanted to up the ante for fellow travelers and foodies seeking healthy and flavorful Latin cuisine.

In July 2002, Chef Garcia opened her own restaurant, "Food Café," and then "Elements Tierra," two successful restaurants in Miami's Design District that featured an eclectic mix of Latin and Asian-inspired dishes (both sold in 2008).

In February 2011 she became the executive chef to Miami International Airport (in American Airlines terminal) with the opening of "Lorena Garcia Cocina," a healthier take on traditional Latin cuisine.

In August 2012, she opened her second "traveler's restaurant" at the Atlanta International Airport (Delta International) with plans for Dallas/Ft. Worth (American Airlines) in 2015. She will also bring her delicious Latin flavor to travelers with "Lorena Garcia Tapas," an eatery available at several international airports.

The multi-talented chef competed on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters," season four among a dozen award winning chefs for the title and $100,000 for their charity of choice. Garcia has also served as a judge on "Cocineros al limite," and Telemundo's "Top Chef: Estrellas," among many others.

Recently, Garcia has accepted the role of consulting producer for Nickelodeon Latin America's new scripted series "Toni, la chef," which premiered on May 4, 2015.

"I made an arepa burger in the series," she said. "I translated it into a burger and they were going nuts with it!"

In October, Chef Garcia is planning on releasing her second cookbook, 'Nuevos Clasicos Tacos' ('New Classic Tacos')."

"I am busy, busy cooking up a storm and I am really happy about it!" she said.

For more information on P.A.N., go to panrecipes.tumblr.com or www.pancorn.com.