Vegas Chefs Reveal Why Food Festivals Are Gateways to the Strip's Top Restaurants

^{From left: Masaharu Morimoto, Byron Lazaroff-Puck, Wolfgang Puck, and Michael Mina, who are among the top chefs on the Strip, at Drink Las Vegas. The chefs were highly accessible throughout the event, using the food festival as a chance to connect directly with diners. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)}

LAS VEGAS – Drink Las Vegas just wrapped up on the Strip this weekend, bringing world-class chefs and diners from around the country together across several MGM Resorts properties for a culinary extravaganza. The four-day event gave attendees the chance to sample food and drinks from some of Las Vegas' most recognizable restaurants, as well as newer, still-blossoming restaurants, without committing to a full dinner at each.

Many chefs in attendance gained more than just exposure at Drink Las Vegas, giving them a chance to put their top dishes in the hands of potential customers and build real connections with them. Lucky diners in attendance had the chance to discover restaurants they might not have tried otherwise.

Chefs from Aria, Bellagio, and Park MGM talked about meeting local residents who live near their restaurant but had never actually dined there. It also brought a huge number of hospitality professionals together while giving local restaurants a chance to be featured among some of the biggest names in the business.

Byron Lazaroff-Puck, President of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, explained to Casinos.com how these types of events cater to people who haven’t necessarily been to all of the independent restaurants here.

"It’s very meaningful because it can introduce a new audience that maybe hasn’t experienced us before,” Lazaroff-Puck said, “maybe hasn’t heard of us before."

Drink Las Vegas is part of a food festival trend taking off across Las Vegas right now, joining Revelry at Wynn, Vegas Unstripped, and the Great American Foodie Fest. But the luxury ones on the Strip elevate the food fest concept even further, with more than just restaurants serving up samples over the full weekend.

We spoke with chefs and attendees alike to find out why an event like this works so well for both sides of the table.

Chefs Come Face to Face With Prospective Diners

Andrew Carroll, Executive Chef at Aria’s seafood restaurant Catch, said people who stopped by their booth kept telling him they lived nearby but had never actually made it into the restaurant.

"I've met so many people, a lot of locals, actually," Carroll said. "We want to get them in the restaurants too. We meet lots of people who are familiar with us but never taken the time to visit. A lot of locals don't visit the Strip often and can miss out."

It’s common in Vegas, with so many restaurant options both on and off the Strip, each with its own unique ambiance and menu. A visitor might recognize a restaurant's name from social media or from walking past it in a casino, without ever having actually eaten there. A festival like Drink Las Vegas removes the commitment of a full-price dinner or night out, so people can try an unlimited variety of dishes from so many different places in one visit.

Carroll and the team from Catch had their namesake Catch Roll served at the event, a sushi roll with crab, salmon, and miso-honey, torched at your table. It’s a great starter for introducing someone to the restaurant’s cuisine or even sushi in general. He recommends the truffle sashimi, crispy shrimp, and whole branzino as other options for anyone, like me, who hasn’t been to the restaurant before.

Lazaroff-Puck saw the same dynamic play out at Spago at Bellagio, where his team passed out Linzer cookies based on his grandmother’s recipe. The idea wasn't to showcase Spago's full menu, but to create enough curiosity to get guests to come back for a full meal. They also have the opportunity to stand alongside chefs you might otherwise see as competitors.

"Hospitality is all about collaboration. It’s not a competition," Lazaroff-Puck said. "So for us to see everybody come together under one roof, be able to showcase their own creativity and stand hand-in-hand and side-by-side doing what they love is the most exceptional experience."

The value is there for both sides, chefs and diners. Trying Spago, Catch, and a handful of other high-end Strip restaurants individually can add up to an expensive night out. At Drink Las Vegas, guests could move between restaurants and sample food and drinks in smaller portions across a single weekend, then come back to their favorites later for a full Strip dining experience.

Off-Strip Restaurants Join the Fun, Too

The festival also made room for local chefs to show their stuff alongside the big names from the Strip. Chef Alex Reznik from Hayworth in Henderson used the event to introduce a Strip-heavy crowd to a restaurant most of them had probably never driven out that far to see.

Hayworth served out samples of their oxtail terrine, paired with crispy chicken skin and zhug sauces. Many people (including myself) had made it a point to double back often to try out the delicious dish. The value of sharing their cuisines goes even further, since he can connect with locals who may come back again and again, especially if they live in Henderson.

A festival setting also has less time and fewer factors to impress a potential guest. At the brick-and-mortar location, guests can get a good idea of the vibe from the ambiance, service, and full menu. On the other hand, the restaurant can only impress with the service from a handful of people working, and the food is most important.

"At Hayworth, you experience the whole restaurant: the room, service, cocktails, live fire, and food,” Reznik said. “At a festival, I basically have one bite to tell you who we are. That forces you to make something that hits immediately but still has some thought behind it."

Reznik sees festivals like this one as evidence of how Las Vegas eats. Vegas dining, he argues, isn't just a casino amenity anymore.

"Vegas is becoming much more than restaurants attached to casinos," he said. "There’s a real local dining culture growing in Henderson, Chinatown, Downtown and beyond. People will drive for something good, and I think you’ll continue to see more chef-driven, neighborhood restaurants with a strong point of view."

Making Vegas’ Culinary Scene More Accessible

Along with locals discovering new restaurants, many people visiting town got a chance to check them out, some spending serious time and money to attend multiple days and events. With a chance to see celebrity special guests like Sylvester Stallone, Tom Holland, or Johnny Depp, it could be totally worth it.

Drink Las Vegas attendee Courtney Taylor and her husband came to the event while on a layover from Indianapolis. They had already been familiar with one of the chefs, Kelsi Murphy, who was participating in the festival because she operates a restaurant inside a brewery in their hometown. After discovering Drink Las Vegas, they decided to check it out.

The couple had only made their way through part of the event when we spoke, but Taylor already had a favorite: the lamb on a stick from the Mediterranean restaurant Dalida over in San Francisco. “The lamb was unbelievable. So good. That was probably, for me, number one so far,” Taylor said.

Regardless of where someone was visiting from, they could casually meet these celebrity chefs during the event. People like Wolfgang Puck, who would normally be difficult for the average diner to access, were suddenly standing behind booths, casually talking about their food and answering questions. I could walk up to someone like Byron Puck, Wolfgang Puck’s son, and have a conversation about food almost as casually as I would with another guest.

Drink Las Vegas did a great job of creating community around the city’s food and beverage scene, while giving diners an unusually direct look at the masterminds behind the restaurants. A successful food festival gives restaurants a chance to introduce themselves with one well-executed dish.

“Events like this do so much for the culinary community because we all come together for the same reason, which is just talking and hanging with great people and doing what we love,” Lazaroff-Puck said. “And it’s a beautiful thing to be able to elevate all of our brands, collectively.”