Las Vegas may be known for its casinos and nightlife, but it’s also increasingly being recognized as an international culinary hub. Sin City’s gourmet cred was on full display last month at the FOOD & WINE Top Chefs All Stars Las Vegas, held at Aria at City Center. Top Chef winners and cheftestants joined a worldwide “who’s who” in the culinary world to cook up a storm for lucky attendees.
A Jam-Packed Culinary Weekend in Las Vegas
Chef attendees included Stephanie Izard, Top Chef Winner Season 4 and FOOD & WINE Best New Chef 2011; Hosea Rosenberg, Top Chef Winner Season 5; Yigit Pura, Top Chef Just Desserts Winner Season 1; Sam Talbot, Top Chef cheftestant; Angelo Sosa Top Chef cheftestant; and culinary masters Michael Mina, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Masa Takayama, Julian Serrano, Shawn McClain, and restaurateur Sirio Maccioni.
The event kicked off with the First Course Cocktail Party hosted by FOOD & WINE’s Gail Simmons and Anthony Giglio. Chefs and guests mingled while enjoying champagne, passed hors d’oeuvres and JUSTIN and Landmark wines. The first day concluded with a FIJI Water-sponsored All Star Nightcap party at UNION restaurant located inside Aria. Top Chef Just Desserts winner, Yigit Pura, provided an array of tasty bites for the intimate party of 200 guests. DJ KrisCuts provided the sounds for the evening from the FIJI Water DJ booth.
The highlight of the three-day festival was the All Star Tasting held poolside at the Aria pool. Nearly 500 foodies shared a decadent evening of culinary creations.
Everyone stumbled away from three days of epicurean madness with a full belly and a hot-from-the-pot recipe from Stephanie Izard’s very successful Chicago restaurant, Girl and the Goat. Below find the recipe for the dish she presented: Spicy Goat Nut Stew.
Spicy Goat Nut Stew
makes 2 gallons
Step 1: Stew Base
1 quart canned tomatoes
1 ounces garlic, chopped
1/2 cup tamarind
2 tablespoons hot roasted pepper paste
- Combine ingredients in a pot. simmer until the flavors are well combined and all the ingredients are softened.
- Remove from stove and pulse in food processor until roughly chopped.
Step 2: The Stew
1 quart onion, small dice
1 ounce garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 quart tomatoes, med dice (roma or any other tomato)
8 ounces creamy peanut butter
5 pounds goat chorizo, browned
5 pounds braised smoked goat
1 pint goat braise
1 pint goat stock
2 teaspoons hot roasted pepper paste
1/2 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt to taste
- In a stock pot, heat oil. Add onion and garlic and sweat until translucent.
- Deglaze with red wine.
- Add tomatoes and cook until they start to break down, about 15 minutes.
- Add peanut butter and mix thoroughly.
- Add stew base from Step 1.
- Add goat chorizo, braise smoked goat, goat braise and goat stock. Cook until flavors marry, about 2 hours.
- Finish with pepper paste, coconut cream and lime juice.
- Season with salt.
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