It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in Las Vegas, and frankly, I’m exhausted.  First was The COUTURE Show, which returned to Wynn Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 29, through Sunday, June 02.  Always an important time for me, this year I was able to meet with more than thirty of the world’s most acclaimed and revered jewelry designers (which you will read about in the coming weeks), during which time I was able to examine the pieces which you will be seeing from them in stores and in the media over the coming year. 

A particular highlight for me was that I’d been asked to be a presenter at the 2024 COUTURE Design Awards on Saturday, June 01, and I was psyched to find myself on stage in the Encore Theater in front of an audience filled with people I respect and admire—featuring SICIS Jewels’s spectacular one-of-a-kind Damisa Necklace (a micro-mosaic leopard set with diamonds, orange sapphires, and yellow sapphires on 18k gold) at my throat and the coordinating Damisa Ring on my finger—to present the award in the category of “Editor’s Choice.”  That after reading my script from the teleprompter (and adlibbing a line that received a huge laugh from the audience) and opening the envelope, I was able to bestow the honor upon Silvia Furmanovich, an incredible designer, innovator, and creative force of whom I’ve been a fan for many, many years, was truly a privilege.

I was pretty beat by Sunday, after five days of being on my feet for hours at a time (I think my shoe size had increased a half size since Wednesday), but remembering that old adage about there being no rest for the wicked, realized I was careening smack into the hoopla surrounding the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, which was being held for the first time in Las Vegas.  And as if that wasn’t enough to make my gall bladder wince, the teams at Wynn Las Vegas and Resorts World Las Vegas had decided to take advantage of the sheer volume of acclaimed chefs in Las Vegas to respectively debut Revelry and Indulge, decidedly upscale food festivals at their properties (which you will also read about in greater detail in the coming weeks).

There was a series of 50 Best Signature Sessions around town that week, and I enjoyed two of them at Wynn.  The first, on the evening of Monday, June 03, featured Chef Sarah Thompson of Casa Playa (Las Vegas) welcoming Chef Elena Reygadas of Rosetta (Mexico City) to present a multi-course dinner that was as gorgeously presented as it was gobsmackingly delicious.  Then, the following day, Chef Theo Schoenegger of Sinatra (Las Vegas) was joined by Chef Enricco Crippa of Piazza Duomo (Alba) in presenting an incredible luncheon with wine pairings that might well have been the most beautifully plated I’ve ever seen. 

The next day, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants announced their 2024 honorees, and Revelry (at Wynn) and Indulge (at RWLV) revved into gear, starting for me with East Meets Best at Wynn, a bespoke indulgence of haute Sino-gastronomy presented as a collaboration between Chef Andre Chiang (culinary ambassador, Wynn Macau), Chef Henry Zhang (Golden Flower, Wynn Macau), and Chef Tam Kwok Fung (Chef Tam’s Seasons, Wynn Palace), joining Chef Xian Ming Yu (Wing Lei, Wynn Las Vegas) and Chef Jennifer Lee (executive pastry chef, Wynn Las Vegas) at Wing Lei; and it was fantastic!

Across the Strip at Resorts World, on Thursday, June 06, I had a pair of events going down simultaneously as part of Indulge.  First was íViva! x Brezza at which Chef Ray Garcia (íViva! at RWLV) joined Chef Nicole Brisson (Brezza and Bar Zazu at RWLV) at Brezza for what was my fourth collaborative multi-course multi-chef experience in as many days. My two takeaways?  First, just because the restaurant you are at features a certain cuisine does not mean that the chef is only proficient in that cuisine and, given the chance, might blow you away with something altogether different (I’m looking at you, Pozole Verde by Chef Nicole!); and second, goat is far more tender and far less gamey that I’d ever have expected.  (Who knew?)

As mentioned, I had another Indulge event taking place at the same time, with EIGHT x GLENFIDDICH, inside Eight Lounge.  And while it would’ve been rather arduous to go from the private dining room of Brezza to the front of the restaurant, hang a left, skadootch down the District to Eight Lounge, and go to the Chairman’s Lounge in the back, it was actually a breeze, thanks to the Brezza PDR and the back of Eight Lounge being located just steps away from each other on the same service corridor (of which I availed myself throughout the evening).  Over at Eight Lounge, Glenfiddich was treating the palates (and hardening the livers) of its guests with flights of four of their esteemed Scotch whiskeys, paired with cigars by Freud Cigar Co., and a good time was being had by all.

And I haven’t even gotten to the weekend, which included a dinner with friends at Mizumi, followed by one of the final performances of DITA LAS VEGAS: A Jubilant Revue in the Jubilee! Theater at Horseshoe Las Vegas, then going backstage to congratulate Dita and her talented cast (on Friday); as well as The Feast, the culmination of Revelry (on Saturday).  And yes, once again, you’ll be reading all about these in the weeks to come.

But for now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna get some sleep, all the while being more than a bit relieved not to have lapsed into a diabetic coma and still be able to button my pants!

COUTURE, World's 50 Best, Revelry, and Indulge

Get into it!
#Vegas