Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/149416
FOOD SPOTLIGHT WYNN AND ENCORE CHEFS SHARE CRAFT SECRETS AS WE HIGHLIGHT A TRIO OF TANTALIZING MENU ITEMS MADE WITH TALENTED HANDS. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX KARVOUNIS (LEIBOWITZ) BY KAREN ROSE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SABIN ORR I t takes just 45 seconds. Start to finish, that's all the time required to cook the fresh blackpepper pappardelle at Tableau. Embracing that kind of precision makes all the difference in the wide variety of perfectly prepared artisanal dishes you find throughout Wynn and Encore. "Anything less, anything more, you are going to lose a bit of dexterity," explains Tableau executive chef Joseph Leibowitz of his process with the wide, flat noodles, which he indeed times out at exactly three-quarters of a minute. "They're either going to break down a little bit, or they're going to be a little too hard." Fresh, organic ingredients prepared using recipes honed over generations—the concept sounds simple, yet there is often a science to the fine art, and most definitely the craft, in cooking the sophisticated menus you find in Tableau and the other dining spots throughout Wynn and Encore. Three chefs recently sat down to talk about their methods, geared toward bringing the best to both resorts' collective culinary table, from the delectable burrata at Allegro to the warm, savory pretzel bread that's earning raves in a variety of restaurants. Leibowitz's pasta is another such example, not only for his precision in its cooking, but especially its freshness. "Most people are dependent on eating a dry, store-bought pasta, but you can absolutely tell it's not fresh," he says. "It's completely different. And that's because of the texture of it. If you cook fresh pasta properly, your mouth is going to know something totally different is going on." In the Tableau kitchen, Leibowitz's team rolls out fresh dough every morning, made from ingredients that are few in number and simple, yet refined: sifted all-purpose flour, organic semolina flour from Italy, organic eggs sourced from a family farm, extra-virgin olive oil, and of course, freshly milled cracked black pepper. "We do it in a pepper mill, so it's got a little texture to it," Leibowitz notes. "So you'll have small to medium-size nuggets of the black pepper in there. That's where the rusticity comes opposite page: Tableau's house-made artisanal black-pepper pappardelle with duck confit. above: Executive chef Joseph Leibowitz (right) cuts out individual 1.25mm-thin slices of pappardelle from a fresh sheet of pasta in the Tableau kitchen. WYNN 054-059_W_F_FoodSpotlight_Fall13.indd 55 55 8/9/13 12:24 PM