If you ask Gianni Toffanello if he’d rather work in any other industry than hospitality you’d be met with a resounding “No!”
“Where I was born—northeast Italy, Ravenna—is a famous resort town,” explained Toffanello, general manager for Wolfgang Puck’s Cut at The Palazzo. “So I grew up around hospitality, embedded in the industry from a young age.” From Ravenna moving forward, Toffanello’s résumé is impressive. He’s worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and for celebrity chefs in Hawaii, Chicago and New York. In 2005, he moved to Las Vegas. “I knew this was the city to be in,” he said. “It was booming.”
By 2008, Toffanello helped open Cut, and the upscale steakhouse has given him the ultimate satisfaction, he said. “Wolfgang and the directors are trusting me to be the point of contact for our customers,” he said. “I believe, we all believe here, in what we’re doing, all the elements that come together for our guests.”
Toffanello certainly maintains the restaurant’s reputation, while at the same time making sure his staff maintains a level of happiness. “I’m direct, diplomatic. A little bit of a control freak,” he said, laughing. “But I’m fair. And, at the end of the day you have to have fun and enjoy being here, and our guests can feel that, feel our joy.”
Toffanello added, “I’ve been welcoming guests into my home since day one. There’s no other way to do it—that’s hospitality.”
Tiffany Twisted
Tiffany Twisted
It’s not just sumptuous steaks being served—at the intimate bar, guests can order delicious, handcrafted specialty cocktails that complete the Cut experience. The Tiffany Twisted (named after The Eagles’ song “Hotel California”), a combination of Aperol, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, lemon bitters and Philippe Gonet Rose Brut champagne, is a very European cocktail. “The perfect aperitif,” Toffanello said. Many of the restaurant’s bitters and fresh juices, are done in-house, said Toffanello—the ingredients come directly from Cut’s kitchen.
