A Preview of Jose Garces’ Volver at the Kimmel Center

Designed by Philadelphian Conrad Booker, the textile mural is inspired by Volver’s logo.

Volver, Jose Garces’ culinary showcase is set to open in April at the Kimmel Center. The space will feature a caviar and champagne lounge as well as a forty-seat performance dining area. Garces, architects KieranTimberlake and interior designer Marguerite Rodgers have collaborated to design a space that highlights the arts, culinary and otherwise.

Volver is part of the Kimmel Center’s 2009 Master Plan to transform the Center’s public spaces into more inviting areas at all times of the day and night. Volver is two venues in one, a lounge that will feature more than 40 sparkling wines and a menu of small bites. The space will have room for more than 60 guests in multiple areas that will give visitors several ways to experience the lounge. Above the central bar will be tables that will overlook the rest of the lounge space. It will surely be a place to see and be seen. There is also the bar itself and more seating in front of Volver’s signature piece of art, Conrad Booker’s impressive wall-sized textile mural.

The second area is the dining room. It is indeed a performance culinary arts space with an open island kitchen where diners will be able to watch Garces and his chef de cuisine, Natalie Maronski perform.

Volver: The Space and the Art

The Hosting Station

Welcome to Volver. Jose Garces' new restaurant will be reachable from the street and from the Kimmel hall.

Bamboo Lamp

Designed by David Trubridge and purchased through The Wexler Gallery.

Volver Lounge

The champagne and caviar lounge can be experienced in several ways.

Volver Lounge

Caviar and Champagne in a see-and-be-seen venue.

Volver Lounge

The bar.

Volver Lounge

Back wall above the bar.

Quiet Rain

Designed by Philadelphian Conrad Booker, the textile mural is inspired by Volver's logo.

Quiet Rain

Created from 200 yards of hand-dyed fused burlap.

Quiet Rain

Detail of one of the large circles of fabric. There are over 4,000 buttons on the mural.

Quiet Rain

hand-dyed fused burlap, each piece is hand cut.

Jose Garces on a Trip

Volver is Spanish for Return. The menu will be inspired by Garces' trips and executed upon his return.

Volver

Volver will feature two distinct areas. The lounge and the performance kitchen.

Jose Garces

Look everyone, it's Jose Garces telling us all about Volver.

A View Into the Kitchen

Garces and chef de cuisine Natalie Maronski will have a clean view into the 40-seat dining room.

Volver Dining Room

It's still undecided whether there will be seats at the kitchen bar.

Chef's Pantry

The small bites offered in Volver's lounge will be created in this pantry area. The artwork is called "Things happening in front of your face which you habitually ignore." It's by Philadelphia artist, Brooke Lanier.

Kerala - Dining Room

By Sabine Frieske. In the painting, Frieske attempts to surrender to the process by being in the moment. Sounds like something a chef might say.

Bibliophylum - Dining Room

By Jessica Drenk, Florida

Bibliophylum - Dining Room

The wall-sized installation is comprised of hundreds of individually sculpted shapes made from book pages.

Bibliophylum - Dining Room

From a distance, they look like feathers, but close up that they are made from book pages is apparent.

Rising Tide

By Darrell Copeland, Weaverville NC. Purchased through The Center for Art in Wood.

Plateware at Volver

The plates are art at Volver as well. Maronski told us that on occasion, the plate inspires the dish.

The food at Volver will feature food inspired by Garces culinary expeditions. The food will also be influenced by some of the gadgets that Garces and Maronski have in their “Ferarri” of a kitchen. The restaurant will be open at least five nights a week and Garces says he will be in the kitchen as much as his schedule allows.

Since opening Amada in 2005, it’s been a whirlwind for Garces. He’s won a James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, won the prestigious title of Iron Chef and published two cookbooks and opened 15 restaurants in five states. Volver, which means “to return” in  Spanish, marks chef Jose Garces’ return, both to kitchen and to Philadelphia.

The Kitchen at Volver

Natalie Maronski and Jose Garces

Garces and Maronski will have lots of fun toys to play with at Volver.

Natalie Maronski

Maronski will be the chef de cuisine at Volver.

Stadium Kitchen

Garces called his new kitchen a "Ferrari."

The Kitchen

The kitchen will be the stage at Volver.

The High Pressure Fryer

This is Jose's fried chicken machine.

More Toys

Modern kitchens are looking more and more like science labs.

The SonicPrep Ultrasonic Homogenizer

What? You don't have one at home?

Upstairs at the Kimmel Center

Maronski is experimenting with recipes in the Kimmel's 2nd floor catering kitchen.

Volver [Foobooz]