Vincent Pouessel Photo by: Courtesy
The holidays are special times for lots of folks, and this year Las Vegas Magazine asked a few of Las Vegas’ best-known names in food to share some of their holiday memories.
One of the most popular restaurants at Paris Las Vegas is Mon Ami Gabi, where longtime Las Vegas resident—and the restaurant’s executive chef—Vincent Pouessel reigns over the kitchen. Says Pouessel, “Getting everything ready for Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year. When my daughters were younger, decorating the house—both inside and out—was the highlight of the season.”
He brings that joyous feeling to Mon Ami Gabi each year in the Bûche de Noël. “At the restaurant, I always take extra care to prepare for the holidays, and one of my favorite traditions is making the Bûche de Noël. As a French chef, crafting these classic yule logs brings me right back to my childhood and the special moments I spent in the kitchen during the holidays.”
Nicole Brisson Photo by: Sabin Orr
For Nicole Brisson, the executive chef and co-owner of Brezza and Bar Zazu at Resorts World Las Vegas, holiday traditions began on Christmas Eve, then continued in the morning. “When I was young, we would go to midnight mass every year. After, we could open one present before we went to bed. The following morning, my mom would always cook a huge Polish brunch. She would make three different pierogies, babka, kielbasa, and chrusciki, a fried, bow tie-shaped pastry,” she says.
“At Brezza, our cannoli shell was inspired by this dessert. My favorite thing to make the evening after brunch was my kielbasa sandwich. I would take two slices of babka, sliced kielbasa, yellow mustard, and horseradish.” If you head to Bar Zazu this year, you will find several special pop-up menus celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah; no kielbasa sandwich, but latkes, tartare and plenty more.
Barry Dakake, chef and co-owner of Barry’s Downtown Prime at Circa Resort & Casino, recalls Christmas Eves with his family: “The greatest memories I have had during Christmas time was Christmas Eve. My mother, being Italian, would cook the feast of the seven fishes—when I say feast I mean feast. My mother would cook for roughly 80 people, and we would have from my father’s side Syrian food, the hand-rolled grape leaves to the stuffed squash and, of course, the Syrian butter cookies. Now picture this, Italian and Arabs sitting down together, the Arabs want the Italian food, and the Italians want the Arab food. Those are some of my greatest memories.” At Barry’s, Dakake serves up Duroc pork tenderloin and red velvet Christmas cheesecake for Christmas.
Barry Dakake Photo by: Courtesy
The chef and co-creator of Border Grill and BBQ Mexicana at Mandalay Bay, Mary Sue Milliken, made a special memory with her business partner Susan Feniger one year: “We had to climb a very tall ladder and sit on a 6-inch ledge—scary—for that photo. We made it into a Christmas card to send to all our customers.”
But it’s not a ladder that Milliken thinks about during the winter season: “My favorite thing about any holiday is the food—not surprising—and cookies with boozy eggnog screams Christmas to me.”
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