Jose Garces, who owns restaurants in Philadelphia and serves as executive chef of the Mercat a la Planza in Chicago, today beat out Jehangir Mehta to become the latest winner of "The Next Iron Chef" on the Food Network.

Garces will compete for the first time as an Iron Chef on Jan. 17, 2010. He is the owner of Amada, Tinto, Distrito, Chifa and Village Whiskey restaurants in Philadelphia and the author of the 2008 cookbook "Latin Evolution." Earlier this year, he won "Best Chef-Mid Atlantic" in the James Beard Awards.