Over the years, Las Vegas has evolved from Sin City to a family playground to a destination for sophisticated consumers of fine art and cuisine. To those in the know, the recent burgeoning of world-class restaurants is old news. And a coalition of civic, hospitality, and foodie journalism entities has been getting the word out to everyone else with its annual Vegas Uncorkโd by Bon Appรฉtit food and wine festival, now in its fifth year.
โWe started this event at a time when there were a lot of new chefs coming to town,โ said the eventโs executive director, Rob OโKeefe. โWeโve long had strong culinary offerings, but we wanted to bring additional people who might not give us credit for being a culinary wonderland.โ
Held over the Motherโs Day weekend to give participating hotels a boost before the onset of Las Vegasโs searing summer, the event, billed as an โepicurean extravaganza,โ drew more than 5,200 ticketed guestsโ25 percent local, the rest from around the country and abroad, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Pacific Rimโto 25 events involving more than 50 chefs from May 5 through 8. Thatโs more than double the attendance and a third more events than the inaugural festival.
Spread among five participating hotelsโCaesars Palace, Wynn and Encore, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and Bellagioโthe festival involves elaborate coordination between presenting sponsor Bon Appรฉtit (including the magazineโs special event director Melissa Poll, and editor in chief Adam Rapoport); Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; each hotelโs food and beverage team; and OโKeefe. The event was managed by Overland Entertainment, a regular with Condรฉ Nast magazines, and sponsorship activator Octagonโs Washington, D.C. office brought in American Express to join the eventโs dozen sponsors. The sponsors also included Infiniti, Clarisonic, Fiji Water, and Travelocity, which dispatched its โRoaming Gnomeโ and a photographer to take pictures with chefs and guests.
And while the tourism mecca has drawn some of the worldโs top chefs, such as Charlie Palmer, Joรซl Robuchon, Alain Ducasse, and Susan Feniger, to open their own restaurants there, this is the rare moment when most are in residence. Indeed, thatโs one of the chief selling points of the festival: up close and personal dinners, parties, and demonstrations with some of the biggest names in the restaurant world.
Limiting most dinners to 30 to 70 guests is key to organizersโ โmanaged growth strategy,โ OโKeefe said. โWhen we add a new event, we do so with the overall numbers in mind. We want each event to have a sense of intimate access between the chefs, the sommeliers, and the winemakers.โ This yearโs highlights included the signature grand tasting at Caesars Palace, where 50 chefs and sommeliers (including celebrity newcomers Michel Richard and Nobu Matsuhisa) were joined by star mixologists, who served up original and traditional cocktails and demonstrations; Top Chefโs Tom Colicchioโs after-party at his eatery, Craftsteak; born-again vegan Steve Wynnโs gourmet vegan tasting reception whipped up by Tal Ronnen, who has cooked for Oprah Winfrey and trained the Wynn resortsโ chefs; and a dinner of Frankโs favorite dishes with Tina Sinatra, to toast the inaugural release of Sinatra Family Estatesโ โCome Fly With Meโ cabernet sauvignon.