Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/98961
BACK STORY THE CATERED AFFAIR BY JANE KELLOGG N ew Year's Eve in Las Vegas is like a red-carpet premiere, fashion show, and street party all rolled into one. Glittering celebrities can be found around every corner; excitement bubbles over as the clock ticks closer to midnight, Wynn when Champagne flows freely. Catering Executive And in Wynn's Lafite Ballroom, Chef it's all that—plus a gastronomic dream come true. James Catering Executive Chef James Benson Benson. orchestrates the whole show, beginning with butlerpassed canapés, including ahi tuna on a wonton crisp, Brazilian cheese puffs, and vegan hearts of palm and artichoke fritters with a lemon emulsion. He sweetens the pot with tasting stations from six of Wynn's world-class restaurants, designed handin-hand with their respective chefs: David Walzog's SW Steakhouse and Lakeside, Carlos Guia's Country Club, Theo Schoenegger's Sinatra, Ming Yu's Wing Lei, and Devin Hashimoto's Mizumi. "It allows everybody to really experience a little something of everything—a little taste of each restaurant, and a little taste of each chef," Benson says. With an average of five group events per day and 764,000 covers this year, Benson and his catering team of more than 82 chefs (and that's not counting the dozens of staff working on beverage, stewarding, and setup) conquer the daily challenge of crafting creative meals, all while ensuring each plate is personalized to the palates of their clients—and their clients' guests. "Surf and turf is one of our most requested—everybody loves it, and it has something for everyone," Benson says. Party cuisine can have a way of becoming monotonous, he notes, especially when it comes from the same kitchen, "so we push ourselves." For the last night of 2012, when anywhere between 1,300 and 1,800 people are expected to indulge in Wynn's private party, Benson's event's version of the classic combo comes via Lakeside's chilled Maine lobster, Florida stone crab claws, jumbo shrimp, and oysters, as well as SW Steakhouse's sliced prime New York strip steaks. Other lavish restaurant stations reimagine dishes such as shrimp and grits, king crab California rolls, and Imperial Peking duck, with every item individually 94 Diver scallops with kobacha squash mousseline, sickle pear, tartufo nero, rocket and pear jus. plated. Culinary fare of this caliber can only be washed down with the best to ring in the New Year: Dom Pérignon. "We pride ourselves on the quality, and we pride ourselves on the food," Benson says. "It's not dropped into a hot box, wheeled down the hall, and then a few hours later someone pours some sauce on it, wipes off the steam condensation, and throws it onto a plate and goes. Really it's a team effort for one of these events—you've got 80 people surrounding you, and you're on the radio between yourself and the kitchen; your chefs are on the line making sure everybody's on point and everybody knows exactly what time the first plate is going out. We'll put out 1,800 covers in a period of 20 minutes, from start to finish." Benson is familiar with serving large groups with high expectations. With 10 siblings, Christmas at the Benson household has grown to 50 people these days. Growing up in a large family, his parents—who are in the food business—constantly had him helping out in the kitchen and taste-testing new sauces and pastas. His grandfather was on the other side of the industry, building food-processing equipment. "It's in the blood," he says. When Benson first went to college, he thought he would embark on a career building machinery like his grandfather. "Ultimately, I decided I really wanted to hold a knife, not a drafting pencil." He honed his craft in Italy for a year and cooked for Le Cirque in New York before eventually finding his groove in Las Vegas, where he has been running the catering team at Wynn (and later Encore) since before its doors opened in April 2005. "I came here to do restaurant-quality food at the level of between 50 and 2,000 people—that's what our goal was, and that's what we're doing." Groove, found. n PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX KARVOUNIS (SCALLOPS); JEFF GREEN (BENSON) Catering Executive Chef James Benson talks about the monumental— and yet highly personalized—effort that goes into delivering the best catered service on the Strip. WYNN 094_W_BOB_BackStory_Winter13.indd 94 12/12/12 5:20 PM