Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/124284
ON THE TOWN RIGHT: Leach, Savoy, Chartron, and Alain Alpe, the restaurant's general manager. BELOW: Savoy's famous Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup. continued from page 100 buys, the help in the kitchen, the time that's spent preparing this stuff. That's where the art is, the six hours of prep before they open the doors. Chef, how would you describe the artistry of fine dining? GS: In theater, you play the same for everybody. In restaurant, it's a different live show for every table. Around the table is like a ballet, a discreet ballet that's very efficient. [Another course is served: Savoy's equally famous Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup.] RL: There are very few chefs in the world who have a trademark dish that is known around the world, that people make pilgrimages for. If you say "truffle soup," there is only one man who makes it. GS: I am a soup seller! RL: I have never asked this question, but I have always presumed that you created this dish? GS: A guest of my first restaurant explained to me, "The artichoke soup is you." Why? Because the artichoke is a very powerful product. Like your family, it's a symbol. The truffle is your way of excellence, and the brioche is your soul. Five years ago my mother explained that when I was a baby, I ate only artichoke purée. So for me, the artichoke is the foundation of my life. RL: This is like ice cream for me. GS: It's a very simple dish. The dish without brioche is not good. You have to eat the brioche. How have you seen fine dining evolve in Las Vegas to allow room for restaurants like Guy Savoy? RL: As the competition for celebrity chefs began to ramp up here, you had Bellagio and Venetian—literally at the same time, in 1998 and 1999— bidding for chefs, and nobody went after these guys. They went after the American television chefs. So everybody came to me [at the Food Network] wanting Wolf, Emeril, all of them. So when you think about it, Venetian and Bellagio divided up the top chefs, and Palazzo scooped the rest. Then you were left with these guys: Caesars got Guy, MGM got Joël [Robuchon], Mandalay Bay got Alain [Ducasse], and now Mandarin Oriental got Pierre [Gagnaire]. GS: The first time I came here was in 2003. The first meeting was at [the now closed] Bradley Ogden [at Caesars Palace]. I was very surprised by the quality. It's incredible. I am very interested by the wine list. Where do you find all this wine? It's a desert! Of course California, but the best French wine, from Italy, from Spain, from anywhere. It's better than Paris. I see that this place will become a very important place. There are many fine-dining restaurants, of course, but also a lot of different styles, from everywhere. RL: I've often said, and I still believe, that what got created here in the last 10 years in this kind of fine dining, it beats New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. People will say that's heresy and stupidity. But when you really think about it, you can't top what Vegas has. BELOW LEFT: It is truly Champagne wishes and caviar dreams at Restaurant Guy Savoy. BELOW RIGHT: The restaurant's Krug Room pairs Champagne with Savoy's most revered dishes. "What got created here in the last 10 years beats New York, Chicago, and San Francisco."—ROBIN LEACH [Foie-Gras "Bitter Infusion" is served tableside, accompanied by a teapot.] MC: We have matcha [finely ground] green tea. Here we have beets cooked and raw, and I just poured some duck consommé, and we let it infuse. GS: This infusion with matcha tea and beet root, it's a little bit low acidity. The bitter with the fat is a good blend. To accentuate the bitter, there is chicory and endive. The bouillon is very important in this…. When I eat the foie gras, I think, I am sure the green tea and beet root blend will be good for the duck eater. RL: I pray the day never comes when we lose foie gras in this country. It's a slice of heaven. Restaurant Guy Savoy, Caesars Palace, 702-731-7286; caesarspalace.com V 102 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 100-102_V_SC_OnTheTown_MAY/JUNE_13.indd 102 4/19/13 11:49 AM