Las Vegas Weekly

July 29, 2008 · 1:59 PM

Moonen’s new cookbook sizzling in culinary world

By Robin Leach

Rick Moonen gets a good look at the fish in the kitchen of his RM Seafood restaurant at Mandalay Bay.

Photo: MGM Mirage

Photo: MGM Mirage

Rick Moonen, happy as a clam.

Fellow chefs and food critics are all unanimous in their praise for celebrated Mandalay Bay chef Rick Moonen’s new Fish Without a Doubt cookbook. Even talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey picked it to premiere her new Cookbook of the Month club. Rick runs his RM seafood restaurant and today he’s got a double-header celebration there with a cooking demonstration and a book-signing with his co-author, Roy Finamore. “It’s a great fish book,” said star chef Daniel Boulud, who has restaurants in New York and at Wynn Las Vegas. Jacques Pepin of PBS food fame added: “For years I’ve enjoyed Rick’s superlative fish dishes and finally he reveals his master secrets: classic, modern, authoritative and approachable. It’s a must for any fish lover.” Blue Ginger owner chef Ming Tsai said: “He focuses not only on taste but also the environment.”

The native New Yorker graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978 and he worked at both of Manhattan’s most prestigious restaurants, La Cote Basque and Le Cirque. At his debut Oceana restaurant he won his first national recognition with three stars from the New York Times -- and another three stars when he created a Greek fish house, Molyvos. There were another three stars for his very own RM restaurant in Manhattan, but in 2005 he decided he wanted to bring his unique flavors and seafood specialties to Vegas and he opened his Mandalay Bay outpost. On its first level he offers regional coastal favorites and a world-class raw bar while on the upper level he features a more elegant experience with inventive tasting and a la carte menus.

Photo: MGM Mirage

Moonen's new, easy-to-digest tome.

He has traveled America educating about the dangers of over-fishing and the need for ocean conservation- even testifying in Washington DC on environmental and sustainable policies. Fish Without a Doubt is his debut cookbook -- and the praise for it has been extraordinary.

Share This