Las Vegas Weekly

September 1, 2009 · 11:56 AM

Steve Wynn’s star chefs pay tribute to Julia Child during Restaurant Week

By Robin Leach

Julia Child.

Photo: Courtesy

Star chefs from Steve Wynn’s casino hotels are paying special tribute to legendary culinary icon Julia Child during Restaurant Week. To honor the TV personality, who is currently portrayed by Oscar winner Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, they’ve created Julia Child-inspired menu items at their restaurants, where proceeds will be donated to our Three Square food bank.

Alex Stratta, chef at the French restaurant Alex and the Italian restaurant Stratta, first met Julia when she visited him at Renoir in The Mirage. “Julia was so excited about our shared French connection, and she said the sweetbreads I served were the best renditions she’d ever had! That was quite an honor for me,” Alex said.

Fellow Wynn chef and James Beard Foundation Award winner Paul Bartolotta of Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare added: “I’m proud to say I cooked for Julia at least six times, the last time at her birthday party in Chicago. She even signed my chef’s coat, which I’ve saved in a collection. It’s the most prized.”

Chef Carlos Guia of The Country Club at the Wynn cooked twice for Julia early in his career when he was at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and the nearby French restaurant Lutece. “Her visit to Lutece was both unexpected and special. Before leaving, she came back into the kitchen to personally tell us how much she enjoyed her meal.”

Chef Mark LoRusso at Botero in Encore first met Julia at a seminar during his sophomore year at the Culinary Institute of America. “She was such an amazing presence and engaging speaker,” he said. “ You couldn’t help but be uplifted by her passion for cooking.”

Other chefs at the two properties serving up special Julia Child meals are Rene Lenger at Switch, Masa Ishizawa at Okada, David Walzog at SW Steakhouse and Kim Canteenwalla at Society Cafe.

Support all the chefs and their special meals for a great and charitable cause, and as Julia herself would say with her signature tagline, “Bon appetit!”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter HERE.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter HERE.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter HERE.

Share This