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 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.
