In Las Vegas, you’ll find a veritable dining paradise, not only for the foodies and influencers who are eager to try the next hot thing, but also for average diners who simply want one of the best meals of their life. At Resorts World Las Vegas, once have you made your reservation, you’ll enter the domain of the dedicated, award-winning chefs who have designed and who deliver those exquisite experiences.
Recently, the property began a campaign to raise awareness of the quality and commitment that those chefs bring to their restaurants, including advertising and signage throughout the resort grounds, and on the Resorts World Las Vegas website. Below, Las Vegas Magazine will introduce you to some of the stars of the Chef Collection at Resorts World Las Vegas, and we think you’ll agree, this group of culinary artists is certainly well worth dipping into.
Daniel Ontiveros
Carversteak, Corporate Executive Chef
Carver Road Hospitality corporate executive chef Daniel Ontiveros, like many Vegas culinary artists, has worked in a variety of restaurants, gaining experience and fans.
When he opened the vaunted Carversteak at Resorts World Las Vegas as executive chef, he brought a wealth of knowledge gleaned through restaurants like Bouchon. The opening of Carversteak in Resorts World Las Vegas was exciting in myriad ways.
“Obviously it’s an iconic location being that it was the Stardust. … It was exciting for me to take the opportunity to come into a new building and work with Sean Christie and Carver Road, and all the executives that brought me on board. It was great to be able to create something together,” he said.
Although he travels extensively in the corporate executive chef position, he’s still involved in all aspects of the restaurants. “The role that I’ve taken on now is more of a mentor for the people who work (here), to make sure that they’re upholding the standards and the expectations of not only myself but Carver Road, and Carversteak.”
He’s got a little advice for beginning foodies: “To develop a palate you have to … have respect for the ingredient itself and where it comes from, how it was grown, who delivered it to you. It’s kind of an entry level for me, in terms of getting people to try new things, and giving a story. Everybody loves the story (like how) our lobsters are shipped from Maine, every two days… I think it just becomes a deeper appreciation for food.”
A Few of My Favorite Things
Straight metal spatula: Can be used for multiple functions in the kitchen; Butter and kosher salt: “I can’t tell you how much butter we go through”; Smoking or anything over a wood fire: Ontiveros grew up with meat in many forms, from 12-hour smoked brisket to homemade sausage
Devin Hashimoto
Resorts World Las Vegas Executive Chef
You might be surprised to learn just how far Resorts World Las Vegas’ executive chef Devin Hashimoto’s reach extends . The Las Vegas restaurant veteran (Stratta, Renoir, Mizumi) opened the resort, interviewing chefs, tasting dishes and recommending menu and ingredient changes. Today, he directly oversees 29 venues, including the foodie paradise of Famous Foods Street Eats.
The Hawaii native developed a fascination for cooking after growing up in an accomplished mother’s kitchen and getting a part-time job in a local restaurant. “That was the first kind of experience I had (in) prep work … getting whatever the fish they had from that fishermen that they had contracted with. Whether it was a marlin or … mahi. It was just so intriguing to be able to see that operation and to experience like a small independent restaurant operation and then come to Vegas, and then work at The Mirage.”
As the UNLV culinary grad worked his way up in Vegas, he developed a network of contacts that proved invaluable in his role at Resorts World Las Vegas, allowing him to source the best possible product at the best possible price, and share that with the resort’s chefs.
So if you see something unusual on a restaurant menu, it might in part be due to Hashimoto. “We try to see what other competitors are doing, what are they offering and how can we get ahead of that and do something unique and different that can attract guests to the property.”
A Tip for Taste: “Some people say food should be hot. I was trained that food shouldn’t be as hot because you lose the flavor. Where the true flavor comes out (is) when items are cold.”
Shaun Hergatt
Caviar Bar, Owner and Executive Chef
For Australian-born Shaun Hergatt, the secret to success isn’t a secret—it’s hard work, dedication and creativity. The executive chef and owner of Caviar Bar grew up in Cairns, a tropical area that’s considered the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, with extensive farming and ocean fishing.
“I think that it was such a great environment to be able to be creative,” Hergatt said. His Finnish-born grandmother nurtured that, cooking traditional Finnish dishes but also using whatever fresh ingredients were available. “My grandmother is an amazing influence in my life , especially from a culinary standpoint, because she was the one who was really teaching me from a very young age about food.”
It seemed natural to go into cooking, where he labored and learned fine dining, taking on an executive chef role at age 22. He ended up in New York and Miami, earning Michelin stars and building a reputation for exquisitely crafted dishes.
He brought that experience and passion for excellence to Caviar Bar, designing a restaurant and menu with a seafood-forward menu that is liberally accented with caviar and, as befits the name, features a caviar section with caviar flights.
The restaurant was designed conceptually, said the chef, meticulously planned so that every aspect complements and leads to another. That planning is emblematic of the chef. “When you have your own mindset, you have your own foundation. And you can create conceptually amazing dishes for the season and the artistry … but also make it taste delicious.”
Think About It: “(When) you eat my food, there’s a very strong thread that goes through it, and an understanding that purely relates to who I am.”
Nicole Brisson
Brezza and Bar Zazu, Owner and Executive Chef
From farm to table to Italy—Nicole Brisson has always been immersed in the food world, with a grandfather who owned his own restaurant and a childhood spent eating and preserving produce from farmer’s markets and the family’s own acreage in New York.
“I didn’t have fast food until I was probably 26 years old,” Brisson said. “Everything I had was made from scratch. And I think that kind of ignited my passion for farm-to-table cooking.”
That background made a decision to pursue opening a restaurant a focus during high school and culinary college. Then came travel to Italy and studying in its restaurants.
After years of making and honing connections, she began helming restaurants both on and off the Strip, garnering a James Beard nomination and appearing on television in the process. When the opportunity to participate in opening upscale Italian restaurant Brezza at the brand-new Resorts World Las Vegas came along, it felt serendipitous.
“It was really kind of like this reunited family atmosphere with all the executives in the hotel, and we kind of bonded over the fact that we’ve been on this trip for 20 years and all know each other, and our paths or our careers kind of correlated at some time.”
At Brezza (and at Bar Zazu, the arty tapas restaurant next door that Brisson also helms), she pulls in the influences her experiences have given her, creating dishes with stories behind them. Take the caprese, a beautiful dish with a geléed tomato center, inspired by a dish she prepared daily in Italy. The pasta is a marvel, with a team of four hand-making every portion in the hours before the restaurant opens.
A Few of My Favorite Things:
Artisanal pasta wheels and cutters: Gleaned while antiquing in Italy; Aged balsamic from Moderna: Can be decades in the making, with every taste reminding one of the dedication of the maker
Justin Kalaluhi
FUHU, Executive Chef
When Justin Kalaluhi was growing up in Hawaii, he little suspected that one day he’d be leading the team at FUHU in Resorts World Las Vegas. As a child he often camped with family in an extensive beachside camp that included a full makeshift kitchen; that intrigued him, while meals with family excited his taste buds and got his creative, inventive juices flowing.
Today, you’ll find those influences blossoming in the Asian-inspired, seafood-forward menu at FUHU, where Kalaluhi took the reins earlier this spring. As executive chef, he focuses on presenting the best-quality dishes to guests, dishes like scallops, whose ingredients and presentation vary with each season.
One of the most impressive items at FUHU, he said, is the aromatic crispy duck, a Malaysian-inspired dish. “People don’t understand that it’s a three-day process. We fabricate the duck and salt it for a whole day. Then we rinse it and put a dry-wet rub on there and it sits for 24 hours. Then we braise it for two hours, then cool down, and in the next process it’ll be (finished) in the fire.”
If you haven’t yet developed your appreciation for raw foods, take Kalaluhi’s advice for expanding into that arena: “If they don’t know anything about the raw side of things, like sushi, the goma crab is an introductory level; it’s not raw, it’s fully cooked. Then they can venture into something like the crispy tuna...” He has a tip for beginning home cooks as well: Don’t add cold food to your pan. It will stick.
A Few of My Favorite Things:
The wok; Tweezers: Allows greater control when plating; Ginger, soy and chili
Tal Ronnen
Crossroads Kitchen, Owner and Executive Chef
If you know much about plant-based food, you have undoubtedly heard of Tal Ronnen. The executive chef and owner of Crossroads Kitchen has created buzz for years with his advocacy for vegan foods. He’s worked with celebrity clients like Oprah Winfrey, wrote cookbooks (The Conscious Cook), founded vegan brands like Kite Hill, and established vegan restaurants like the trendy Crossroads Kitchen in L.A. When expanding to Las Vegas, Resorts World Las Vegas seemed perfect.
“It was a very natural fit for me to choose Resorts World Las Vegas. The resort has a great Los Angeles theme with Wally’s, Fred Segal, and Ray Garcia (¡VIVA!). It just made really good sense for me to come here,” he said.
That expansion has proven a success, with guests coming from near and far for the fine dining that Crossroads Kitchen is famous for. The menu is vegan, with items like chestnut foie gras, which the chef is justifiably proud of. “People are blown away by the texture in the depth of flavor (of the foie gras). It’s made from porcini mushrooms and roasted chestnuts.”
That’s not the only dish to look out for here. The skirt steak takes an incredible effort to produce. “Our eggplant skirt steak is made from a whole Italian eggplant, which is steamed, dehydrated, and then butterflied to look like a skirt steak. It’s then marinated in a beet ponzu, which gives it that bloody color and served like a steak set would be.”
Welcome to Las Vegas: “We have a very strong celebrity clientele in Los Angeles, which is now spilling over to Las Vegas as well. At the end of the day, we appreciate all of our guests, whether you’re famous or not.”
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