Eating is an increasingly significant form of entertainment
in Las Vegas, and Bon Appétit capitalized on that accordingly: This year marked the magazine's first four-day Wine and Culinary
Focus there, which featured
more than 20 events, from 35-guest dinners with some of the city's
finest chefs and the mag's editors, to a 1,000-person poolside
wine-and-dine schmoozefest. Hosts kept events close to one another and
accessible. Dinners, cooking lessons, and cocktail hours took place at Caesars,
the Wynn, and the Bellagio resorts, plus Lake
Las Vegas.
The weekend kicked off on Thursday, when editor in chief
Barbara Fairchild dined with guests at Restaurant Guy Savoy, celebrity chef Cat
Cora was at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, and food writer Alan Richman shared
meatballs and pasta with Bon Appétit fans at Rao's. Friday was a
whirlwind showcase, with simultaneous events at several resorts, each one sold
out. The Bellagio's Tuscany Kitchen—a conference room that features flat-screen
TVs and seating for 75—became a live-action cooking show, where
guests tasted decadent chocolate desserts and learned about spices,
artisanal salts, and tartares throughout the day.
At the Wynn, editors Hugh Garvey
and Andrew Knowlton hosted a cocktail event at the Lure nightclub, where guests
tried concoctions from old-school martinis to lavender-scented margaritas. Two
big events topped off the night: a private sit-down dinner with Cora on the
floating platform at Lake Las
Vegas, which preceded an intimate concert with
John Legend; and the grand tasting that took place around the pool at Caesars.
More than 1,000 people attended the latter, which showcased 40 restaurants from
the resorts and a few local favorites.
On Saturday, a series of private lunches
took place at the Wynn restaurants—a gourmet barbecue at SW Steakhouse, a wine
feast with Daniel Boulud, and an afternoon at Alex. That night in the main
ballroom at the Wynn, Steve Wynn and Fairchild co-chaired a dinner
celebrating 40 top winemakers and vintners from around the world.
The magazine’s Los Angeles- and New York-based staff
coordinated the events. A huge committee including the mag’s senior special
events director, Pam Warr, and her team, along with PR directors and event
coordinators from each resort and support from Las Vegas-based R&R Live
and New York-based M Young Communications, handled the project.
—Lesley Balla
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