Las Vegas Weekly

September 4, 2008 · 12 PM

Despite DUI charge, celebrity chef goes ahead with festival cooking demo

By Robin Leach

Photo: Margo Moritz

Chef Marcel Vigneron

Talk about from the frying pan into the fire -- or vice versa. Celebrity chef Marcel Vigneron, who lives here in Vegas, went directly from jail to an "arts festival" for a cooking demonstration and book signing! On the second season of Bravo’s Top Chef, 28-year-old Marcel was runner-up and has since parlayed it into a highly successful freelance chef’s career.

He’d attended the evening Pageant of the Masters gala benefit for the Festival in Laguna Beach, Calif., and was returning to his hotel shortly after midnight. He was pulled over for speeding -- but then after being given a blood test was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. He was whisked off to jail, where bail was set at $2,500. But he posted bail and made it in time for his scheduled appearance for a cooking demonstration of Dungeness crab gazpacho with melon jello.

Photo: Margo Moritz

Chef Marcel Vigneron

Hundreds of fans turned up for his entertaining presentation and nobody knew he’d been busted 10 hours earlier. Marcel, who was a master cook at Joel Robuchon’s top three-star, Michelin-rated restaurant at MGM Grand, served up tasty samples of his creation to fans and food fanatics.

Sgt. Jason Kravetz of the Laguna Beach Police Department said that chef Vigneron was still able to drive on his license but had to notify our DMV about the incident before Sept. 24.

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