Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY

Wynn - 2014 - Issue 1 - Spring+Summer

Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas

Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/314388

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 50 of 115

photography by sabin orr (fish, chef); barbara kraft (patio) S lender and smiling, Executive Chef Carlos Guía brings international currency to the kitchen of The Country Club at Wynn, employing a melting pot of spices and techniques to coalesce into extravagant flavors. You might wonder about the secrets within Guía's shrimp and grits that give his enlightened version of the New Orleans classic enough refinement—plus down- home flavor—to satisfy both a restaurant-savvy New Yorker and a French Quarter foodie. Watch him perfectly pan sear foie gras for the answer: The man knows his way around Europe. Indeed, having been born in San Francisco and raised in Venezuela by his native father and a mother from New Orleans, Guía's food odyssey is a 'round-the-world journey. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1989, he quickly landed his first job, working as a saucier under John Doherty at the Waldorf-Astoria. The famed hotel had four restaurants; Guía cooked in all of them, and he developed a base knowledge in how to feed discerning diners. But he knew that it would be just the beginning. "The food was mostly American, with French influences," remembers Guía. "It was a great experience, but I felt the need to cook in Europe. Chef Doherty set me up at a restaurant and inn called Scholteshof in Stevoort, Belgium, under Chef Roger Souvereyns. We had a garden on the property; farmers brought us vegetables and local goat herders delivered cheese. For me, this experi- ence was all about extremely fresh ingredients, all used to create simple but elegant dishes." Next stop on Guía's European sojourn of highly sought-after "staging" jobs, or internships (all at Michelin-starred restaurants, no less), was the town of Bosh en Duin in Holland. He had met the chef, Andre van Doorn, at the Waldorf and was smart enough to keep in touch. Now Guía found himself cooking in van Door n's kitchen at Auberge de Hoefslag, becoming immersed in the European way. He learned to work with ingredients one doesn't always see in the United States. "Soon after I arrived, there was the run of sardines; they were beautiful and delicious, and we used them to make all kinds of dishes," recalls Guía. "Plus, white asparagus season was starting. In Holland, they are huge and flavor- ful; they get poached in butter, and entire meals are built around these amazing, seasonal ingredients." London next called Guía, after he happened to spot a copy of Marco Pierre White's cookbook, above, from left: Diners on the patio at The Country Club enjoy a waterfall view courtesy of the Wynn Golf Club's 18th hole; Chef Carlos Guía at The Country Club. opposite page: Guía learned to cook cobia when sport fishermen would bring them to his restaurant in New Orleans. At The Country Club he prepares ocean-raised cobia lemonfish with sautéed young spring squash, Meyer lemon emulsion, black garlic, and chive blossoms. Wynn 49 048-050_Wynn_FOB_FoodforThought_Spring14.indd 49 5/15/14 10:31 AM

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY - Wynn - 2014 - Issue 1 - Spring+Summer