Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/314388
For a bonus video feature of Guía preparing one of his favorite recipes, please visit wynnlasvegas.com. photography by barbara kraft (the country club) White Heat, in van Doorn's kitchen. Then Britain's enfant terrible of high- end cuisine, White had a two-star Michelin restaurant called Harvey's in London. "Marco taught me to taste things three or four times, not just once. Repeated tastings allow you to experience the true flavor, just as a guest would," says Guía. "Marco was famous for kicking out food critics if he didn't like them. One lady scraped the caviar off of her fish, and he ran her out of the place. Marco didn't care about anything except for his food and people experiencing it the way he wanted them to." Guía's European finishing school ended with four weeks each at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and then at the renowned Georges Blanc in Vonnas, France. The stint solidified his understanding of French technique, which came in handy upon his return to New York for jobs as chef saucier at Le Bernardin (cooking under the restaurant's lauded founder, Gilbert Le Coze, as well as Eric Ripert, then chef de cuisine and now co-owner) and chef de partie at Lutèce. New York's most elite spot for classic Gallic dishes, Lutèce ranked as the longest-running four-star restaurant in the city. "Chef André Soltner taught me so much," Guía says with a touch of sentiment. "He is a compassionate person who cares so much about his customers and the food. Nothing went to waste there. He took the trimmings from prime cuts of meat and used them for sausages and terrines. I learned to respect ingredients and not to be wasteful." After Soltner left Lutèce, Guía felt the call of his ancestral home and went to New Orleans in 1995 to study the finer points of Creole cook- ing. There he landed first at Palace Café (where he was promoted from sous chef to chef de cuisine within four months), and then, in his first turn as executive chef, he opened a modern supper club called the Red Room, where he created a menu that updated classic dishes: Wild boar rack stood in for rack of lamb, and his crispy duck put a nice spin on duck à l'orange. He developed a big enough name around town that Ti Martin, the force behind New Orleans institution Commander's Palace, tapped Guía to open a Las Vegas outpost of the famous restaurant. Lured by the food scene developing in Vegas, Guía decamped west and introduced the city to authentic New Orleans cooking. By 2009, when Guía took over the kitchen of The Country Club, all of those influences contributed to the deeply flavorful menu he created. "I start with a base of American cuisine because it provides a broad palate; we can do anything with it," explains Guía. "The fire-seared sea scallop ceviche is my Venezuelan side coming out. When I serve gravlax with homemade crème frâiche, I think about what I learned in Europe. The preparation for the lemon fish is French, and the fish itself is something that sport fishermen used to bring into the kitchen of my restaurant in New Orleans." It all adds up to unique tastes that are worldly and wholly original. But like every sophisticated citizen of the world, he shares his knowledge in a subtle, casual, modest way. "Our customers are demanding and want meals that will blow them away," emphasizes Guía. "They come to The Country Club for a truly American experience done really well. They get it with the crab cakes, the 20-ounce rib eye, and sweet corn chowder. But as they're enjoying our cooking, they don't realize that it's seasoned with experiences from around the world. That's our secret." n from left: Guía at Auberge de Hoefslag in Bosh en Duin, Holland, circa 1992; The Country Club's upscale golf club décor; with Chef André Soltner at Lutèce in New York. 50 Wynn FOOD FOR THOuGHT 048-050_Wynn_FOB_FoodforThought_Spring14.indd 50 5/15/14 10:32 AM