Nobu Matsuhisa of Nobu. Michael Chow of Mr Chow. Gordon Ramsay of Hell’s Kitchen. Pete Gomez has a direct connection to this list of world-renowned chefs and their restaurants. He’s been bar manager for both Nobu’s and Mr Chow’s Las Vegas locations—and now, he’s bar manager for the newly opened Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace.

But Gomez doesn’t do it for the bragging rights. “It’s simple: I love the craft,” said the Northern California native. “Crafting a cocktail, building it from scratch. Working on putting together each bar program and how it relates to each restaurant—that’s what I love.”

Gomez got his first shot at management by creating the bar program for the Nobu brand, splitting his time between the Malibu, Calif., location and the outpost inside Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas. After 11 years with Nobu, he decided to permanently stay in Vegas and soon opened the bar program for Mr Chow. Then, when plans were finalized for the opening of Hell’s Kitchen, Gomez was tasked to create its bar program.

As bar manager, Gomez said his main goal is to connect guests to the restaurant and bar through the cocktail experience. “For the die-hard fans of the reality show, though, I mean, I have never seen so much excitement on people’s faces when they walk in here. And to have made the cocktails to go along with the food—it just increases that whole experience. It’s a good feeling for me.”

Photo: Christopher DeVargas

Notes From Gordon

It’s all about a fun and interactive experience at Hell’s Kitchen, and Gomez created cocktails to match. A highlight is Notes From Gordon, a mix of Plymouth dry gin infused with green tea, orgeat syrup, lemongrass, peach and lemon juices and peach soda. And attached to the cocktail is a British flag scroll with a note from Gordon Ramsay that you can take with you—clever, comedic messages he’s been known to say to his TV show contestants. For instance, this cocktail’s scroll reads: “What came first? The chicken or the egg? It doesn’t matter because you can’t cook either one.” Now that’s hellish, LOL!

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