Manila, Philippines - Who is the American-born Italian-French chef best known for his award-winning restaurants Renior and Alex in Last Vegas, and was named the Best Chef in the Southwest by the James Beard Foundation in 1998?
He was born on Oct. 29, 1964 in Marquette, Wisconsin. A fourth-generation hotelier, his Italian father is from the Piedmont region and his French mother from Nice along the Cote d Azur.
His father was president of Princess Hotels and Resorts and he spent much of his early life living in luxurious resorts in countries all over the world — Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, France, Mexico, and Pakistan. This upbringing made him multi-lingual and multi-cultural in perspective.
Graduating with honors from the Culinary Institute in San Francisco, his first experience was under the tutelage of pastry chef Jim Dodge at San Francisco’s Stanford Court Hotel, where he spent two years learning the craft of baking.
Soon after accepting an internship at the three Michelin-star Hotel du Paris in Monaco, he was invited by Alain Ducasse to join his team at Louis XV. This two-year stint stands out as one of the best experiences of his life. “My cooking is grounded on what I was taught by Ducasse,” he says. When he planned to return to the US, it was Ducasse who advised him to work with Daniel Boulud at Le Cirque, which he did for two years.
Today he credits Ducasse for showing him “how to make basic, simple food phenomenal,” and Boulud for his creative influences as well as business skills.
In 1989, he became executive chef at Mary Elaine’s restaurant at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale Arizona. While he was there, he was featured in Food and Wine magazine as one of America’s Ten Best New Chefs. Under his leadership, the restaurant earned a four-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide and also received critical acclaim as the best restaurant in the Phoenix area.
In 1998, Steve Wynn, chairman of Mirage Resorts, Inc., asked him to become part of the expanding Las Vegas culinary circle as the executive chef of Renoir at the Mirage, where he presents the French artist’s extraordinary paintings with the chef’s innovative contemporary French cuisine.
Cited in a USA Today feature as “having a remarkable knack for combining fresh, seasonal ingredients in exciting ways,” at Renoir he entices diners with his signature dishes. Renoir earned Mobil Travel Guide’s highest rating of five stars after just six months of opening.
In 2005, he opened Alex — once again on the invitation of Steve Wynn for the grand opening of Wynn Casino Resort and Country Club in Las Vegas. The menu at Alex presents the refined cuisine of the French Riviera enhanced by only the finest and freshest ingredients.
Chosen in 2001 as Iron Chef Italian in the now defunct Iron Chef USA, where he was nicknamed Italian Scallion, he was named Best Chef in the Southwest by the James Beard Foundation in 1998 and was a Gaming Hall of Fame inductee in 2006. His restaurant Alex has also won numerous awards — two stars in the Michelin Guide, AAA Five Diamong Award, Five Stars in the Mobil Travel Guide.
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Last week’s question: Who is the French architect, inventor, and designer who has redefined the architectural images of Lancome and Renault, and turned Eerno Aarnio’s Puppy into a white angel in a competition?
Answer: Jean-Marie-Massaud
Winner: Beethoven Lopez of Parañaque