Las Vegas Weekly

June 10, 2010 · 8:09 AM

Rick Moonen finishes 2nd on Top Chef Masters, hosts winner

By Robin Leach

Rick Moonen displays his cookbook to Adam Sobel.

Photo: TVT

The judges on last night’s finale of Season 2 of Top Chef Masters were wowed by Mandalay Bay star chef Rick Moonen’s final presentation. “You raised the bar of what fine cooking should be all about and went way outside the box. It was perfection. This may have been the best meal you ever cooked,” they raved.

But at the very last minute after saying Rick was a Top Chef master, they added a half-star to competing chef Marcus Samuelsson’s score -- and New York City’s Marcus won the prestigious title. Rick turned around immediately and invited Marcus to Mandalay Bay for a celebration dinner.

Now the two top chefs will work alongside each other here June 23 at Rick’s RM Seafood with a cooking demonstration followed by the dinner they served the judges on last night’s Bravo telecast.

Rick, who was 3,500 miles away in the Dominican Republic, told me via Skype as the program ended: “My parents would be extremely proud. The judges called me a Top Chef master, so we all won. It’s all good. I did alright, and from now on, I’ll always be a Top Chef master. I got to the finals, and it was only a half-star difference. I’m thrilled for Marcus and happy he’s coming to Las Vegas to my restaurant.”

For the 10th and final episode, the three remaining chefs from a field of 26 cooked a three-course meal that represented “the story of my life.” For the first course, Rick revealed that his first food memory was the “flavors of the ocean” when as a youngster he went clamming with his father in Long Island, New York. He selected hamachi, kushi oysters and caviar with scallop sashimi.

To show the defining moment of his career when he knew he wanted to become a chef, Rick chose a pork roast with gnocchi of bacon and eggs with fresh white truffle. And for the third course to show how he defined himself as a chef, he picked a roast venison in pear butter with stuffed onions and baby turnips.

The judges were unanimous in their praise for Rick. One judge said it may have been the best dish he’d ever eaten but was curious as to why a seafood specialist went with meat for the final dish.

Rick said: “I wanted my three courses to show the full range of food. I don’t just cook fish. I am a chef and wanted to show I could do it all. We filmed this back in November, so it was a time of the year that also seemed to make sense. I’m certainly adding it this fall to our menu at Mandalay Bay because they said, ‘Wow, we knocked it out of the ballpark.’ ”

One unexpected highlight of the final broadcast was that TV producers flew in each of the three chefs’ top guns from their kitchens. Rick’s executive-chef partner Adam Sobel really surprised his boss!

Adam told me: “He didn’t have a clue I was turning up. For my TV debut, though, it was the toughest, hardest 3 1/2 hours of filming. We walked in the kitchen and went right to work on the spot. It was great, though, just to work alongside him for the final show. We made magic. It was a thrill to hear the accolades for him from the judges.”

Our local food bank Three Square won a $27,500 donation from Rick’s show winnings that will provide 67,500 meals to the needy. “I’m only disappointed that I missed the $100,000 donation by such a tiny vote,” Rick said. If his other rival chef on the show Susur Lee from Toronto had won, our local Andre Agassi educational foundation would have received the $100,000.

Three Square President Julie Murray, who watched the broadcast at RM Seafood, told me: “We are so proud of Rick and what he accomplished on Top Chef Masters and his generosity with us. He has brought so much awareness to the work that we are doing, particularly in this recession where we’re working beyond overtime to meet the demand for our services.”

Thanks to Skype, Rick and Adam watched the final broadcast from the restaurant in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Their staff kept laptops pointed at the TV monitors for the broadcast and then switched the monitors over to Skype during the commercial breaks so that they could talk to guests.

“This date had been set way before Bravo decided the date of the Top Chef Masters finals,” Rick explained. “Otherwise, we would have been there in Mandalay Bay to watch it with you all.” Rick and Adam were at Punta Cana as stars of a guest chef series, and their dinner there turned out to be a challenge, too. Tropical Storm Turk nearly washed them out, but they managed to pull off a second miracle of the night -- although they looked like drowned rats on the feed!

“Just like you, it was the first time we’d seen how it all came together on the final show,” Rick said. “I’m proud. It all looked and sounded great. I’m humbled and honored by the praise and the warm words from the judges. My parents would be extremely proud of what I achieved. They called me a Top Chef master, so I am a Top Chef master in Las Vegas now for all time. I am very happy about that.”

Mandalay Bay star chef Susan Feniger also took part in Season 2 and was eliminated three episodes ago, and Mandalay Bay star chef Hubert Keller was one of last night's judges. To book reservations for the Top Chef Masters dinner with Rick and Marcus at RM Seafood on June 23, call (702) 632-9300.

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 at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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