Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/49393
Bloody Mary at Society Café Ragin' Cajun Handmade meatballs with polenta at Sinatra A ' nybody who has ever had a tomato plant in the backyard knows," says Theo Schoenegger, execu- tive chef at Sinatra in Encore, "when you get a tomato that's perfectly ripe, beautifully cut in half, it's probably the best fruit you've ever eaten." But as Schoenegger is quick to add, "It doesn't mat- ter what season it is. My customers want Caprese salad." A glorious play on contrasts consisting of ruby-red tomatoes, creamy white mozzarella di bufala, and vibrant flecks of fresh green basil, the Caprese is a statement in simplicity, and at one time (in Italy, anyway), a symbol of summertime. So what does that same chef do when he is running an Italian restaurant in Las Vegas in the winter, when ripe summer tomatoes are hardly a local commod- ity? He gets his hands on the best tomatoes he can find wherever in the world he might locate them, and then he gets creative. "I'm here to please my customers," says the ever-cheerful Schoenegger. "If they want Caprese in January, my job is to give it to them. The good news is, it's always summertime somewhere." Among the chefs at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, the resorts get deliveries of greenhouse- or hydro- ponically grown tomatoes in all shapes and sizes, from California, Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and Florida. Once those tomatoes arrive at their kitchen doors, these talented chefs use them and manipulate them in ways that maximize their flavor. "In the winter, tomatoes just aren't going to be as good," Schoenegger says. "They can't be." But that doesn't mean he can't use them. "When the product is not as premium, you manipulate it." Schoenegger has a number of tricks up his sleeve for coaxing every bit of flavor and sweet- ness from winter tomatoes. He roasts them, concentrating their flavor, and then uses them to fortify the tomato sauce that goes into his eggplant Parmesan, chicken Parmesan, and a vegan "chicken" Parmesan. "By add- ing some herbs, maybe a little bit of sugar, and of course olive oil, you can take a product that is not a sun-ripened heirloom tomato in August, but a hothouse tomato in January, and still end up with a delicious, flavorful " When you get a tomato that's perfectly ripe, beautifully cut in half, it's probably the best fruit you've ever eaten."—Theo Schoenegger WYNN 63