First off, just so there’s no confusion, even after taking a day to process (and digest), I am full.  Ridiculously full.  I’m talking ‘Mr. Creosote’ from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life-full.  And I have the co-producers of REVELRY—Wynn Las Vegas and Elizabeth Blau—to thank/blame for it, along with the grand poobah of Wynn’s Connoisseur Series (of which Revelry is a part), Phil Romeo, and Wynn’s incredible Food & Beverage team.  Granted, this is a very first-world problem to have.  And let’s face it: Nobody’s shedding any tears for a guy ‘complaining’ about having spent nine days gorging himself on the incredibly delicious dishes prepared by some of the country’s most talented and celebrated chefs and presented in some of the most gorgeous restaurants and venues in the world.

Following are my highlights from seven of the mind-blowing chef collabs that went down over REVELRY, including my favorite dish from each.  Sure, I might’ve come perilously close to lapsing into a diabetic coma, but what a way to go, right?

ALL FIRED UP
Mastering the Art of BBQ with Burt Bakman and Daniel Castillo
Friday, September 19 | 12 PM | Petrus Ballroom

If you’re wondering how two of America’s finest pitmasters could put on a demonstration of barbecue grilling in a ballroom, you’ve gotta understand that at Wynn Las Vegas, many of the ballrooms feature sprawling terraces.  So, thanks to a bit of A/V wizardry, Chefs Burt Backman (SLAB | Los Angeles, CA) and Daniel Castillo (Heritage Barbeque | San Juan Capistrano, CA) were able to verbally tag-team for those of us attending this Master Class; with Backman on stage inside, demonstrating the finer points of making a rub and a sauce, while Castillo showed us his methods for grilling chicken and brisket.  As ‘Sheldon Cooper’ once posited in a voiceover on Young Sheldon, “Smoked brisket…curiously the one cut of beef that Texans and Jews can agree upon.”

Not for nothing, but that brisket was so tender that our knives, having proven to be superfluous, were relegated to decorative tabletop objets.  That said, it was the chicken that knocked my proverbial socks off.  It was so succulent that describing it as “juicy” would do it a grave editorial injustice.  What’s more, it was seasoned to perfection.  

And lest you think I’m all talk, after I’d finished my lunch, I meandered out to the terrace and joined a trio of Wynn executives.  A couple of minutes later, remarking on something in her office that required her attention, my pal, Lainey, excused herself.  I looked down at her plate and—noting that she’d cut off only one tiny bite of her chicken—glanced over at our friend Isa and asked if Laniey had planned on coming back.  When, with a shake of her head, Isa signaled the contrary, I grabbed a clean knife and fork and proceeded to eat Lainey’s half-chicken.  It was that good.   

THE TASTEMAKERS
A Culinary Collaboration with Douglas Keane and Martin Heierling
Monday, September 22 | 6:30 PM | PISCES Bar & Seafare

Chefs Martin Heierling (Executive Chef, PISCES Bar & Seafare | Wynn Las Vegas) and Douglas Keane (Chef/Partner, Cyrus | Geyersville, CA) have been friends for nearly thirty years, and this camaraderie was immediately apparent upon being greeted by them at The Tastemakers dinner, in the private dining room of PISCES.

The dinner, during which the two accomplished chefs alternated courses, was utterly decadent, and I’m convinced we consumed enough butter during that meal that if I were not on a potent statin, my cholesterol surely would have risen by a few points as a result.

Picking a favorite here was tricky, but in the end, I had to go with Chef Douglas’ Butter-Poached Lobster.  Served on a bed of creamed corn and tomato jam, with some strands of corn husk on top, it was rich and savory and better still, maintained its texture (because nobody's got time for a mushy crustacean).  Further, I don’t usually enjoy creamed corn, but this was light, not overly sweet, and was reminiscent of a lovely risotto (without the rice, of course).  

A special shout-out to the team at PISCES, because after I’d spent a significant amount of time regaling my tablemates with my thoughts on the restaurant’s Gazpacho de Cerezas, which I’ve touted as the happiest, most joy-inducing soup ever, the manager (having stopped by our table after hearing fragments of our discourse) asked Chef Martin if she could bring us a round of shot-sized servings of the soup.  “We don’t serve small portions of our soup in shot glasses,” replied Chef Martin.  “We serve it in pewter octopi!”  And that’s exactly what showed up at our table (to the confusion of the occupants of the other tables): Four small, octopus-shaped pewter vessels filled with a velvety tomato-and-cherry elixir, topped with a razor-thin slice of cucumber, accompanied by sherry, feta, extra-virgin olive oil, and a parmesan crisp.  The happiest soup presented by one of the happiest chefs I know.  Thanks, Chef!

A TWIST OF PLATES
A Culinary Collaboration with JP Park and Sarah Thompson
Tuesday, September 23 | 6:30 PM | Casa Playa

As regular readers of ShulmanSays are well aware, not only have I been a fan of Chef Sarah Thompson (Executive Chef, Casa Playa | Wynn Las Vegas)—a 2025 James Beard Award-finalist for “Best Chef: Southwest”—since first tasting her tantalizing takes on coast Mexican cuisine back in 2020.  But I consider the meal she presented with Chef Angie Mar before Lunar New Year as the most wonderfully special dinner I’ve enjoyed all year.  So, to my mind, when you pair Chef Sarah with Chef Junghyun “JP” Park (2023 James Beard Award-winner, “Best Chef: New York”)—whose Atomix (New York, NY) has garnered a pair of Michelin stars, and topped the rankings at the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Restaurants presentation last Thursday night—you’ve gotta put Jesus in the backseat and let these two culinary dynamos take the wheel.

I was pretty torn between Chef JP’s Squab and Chef Sarah’s Ossetra Caviar Tostada, but I’m always impressed by any dish that is comprised of an item I don’t usually care for (in this case, caviar, that delicacy so astutely described by ‘Patrick Dennis’ in Aunty Mame as “fishberry jam”) but presents it in such a way that I actually enjoy it.   Featuring an obscene amount of ossetra caviar on top of a generous helping of madai (red sea bream aka Japanese red snapper, which ironically, is a white fish) with serrano yuzu kosho (a spicy, citrus-y, umami-fied paste), served on a crispy corn tostada; it was fun, flavorful, and very photogenic.  Brava, Chef!

FROM FARM TO KNIFE
A Culinary Collaboration with Katina & Kyle Connaughton and Jeff Ramsey
Wednesday, September 24 | 12 PM | Mizumi

I’m not being too heavy-handed when I say that the flora-laden tables (think: fronds and leaves and branches and flowers) during the From Farm to Knife lunch, as assembled by farmer/horticulturalist Katina Connaughton of SingleThread (the three Michelin-starred restaurant and farm that she and her husband, Chef Kyle Connaughton, own and operate, in Healdsburg, CA) were among the most beautiful I’ve ever laid eyes on.  Lush, verdant, and about as close to nature as I like to get (Mizumi's 8-story waterfall, notwithstanding).  What’s more, I’ve long maintained that it’s a shame most people never get to see Las Vegas’ fine dining venues in daylight, because these spectacularly-designed restaurants just have a different vibe if and when they are activated for lunch than they do at dinnertime.

Now, Chef Jeff Ramsey (Executive Chef, Mizumi | Wynn Las Vegas) has ensured that Mizumi remains my favorite upscale sushi restaurant in town, and the plates that come out of his kitchen are as stunning and picturesque as they are delicious; but, that afternoon it was the Connaughtons' Cucumber Moriawase with Baja tuna, shiro-ika (a subtly-sweet sword-tip squid with translucent, white flesh), and madai that sparked the most joy with me.  And, styled with Katina’s signature floral embellishments, it was a treat for our palates and our eyes.

BUBBLES+BURGERS
A Master Class, Champagne, and Lunch with Angie Mar, Antonia Lofaso, and Megan Vaughan
Thursday, September 25 | 12 PM | Intrigue

I'll be the first to admit that I had a favorite for this one, going in.  Yes, the Bahn Mi Burger by Chef Megan Vaughan (Rare Steakhouse | Encore Boston Harbor) was tasty and clever and different, right down to the lemongrass-infused bun; and yes, the “Breakup” Burger by Chef Antonia Lofaso (Scopa Italian Roots | Los Angeles, CA)—so-named by Chef Antonia after a brief exchange during which I told the chef that her wonderfully gooey, cheesy, garlicky burger was “exactly the sort of thing I’d want to eat on a rainy day, after breaking up with a lover,” adding that “eating it is kinda like getting hugged from the inside, because, well, you know… Food is love!”  To which she replied, “You are totally speaking in my language!”—was exactly as I described it to Chef Antonia.  But for me, it’s all about the Le Burger by Chef Angie Mar (Restaurant Le B. | New York, NY), and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Chef Angie debuted the Le Burger back in 2013 at The Beatrice Inn, after five years of testing and experimenting.  Now, it is only available in the bar of Le B., where, after years of only serving nine of them each night on a first-come/first-served basis (for which ravenous guests willingly stood in the sort of absurd lines lampooned recently in the Saturday Night Live sketch, Big Dumb Line), the Le Burger is now available exclusively by pre-order via OpenTable, though still in limited quantities.  So, what makes the Le Burger—described by Vogue as the “Birkin bag of burgers,” and the subject of an episode of the James Beard Award-winning G.O.A.T. series for MasterClass—so good?

Where the burgers at most fine dining establishments are a way for the restaurant to repurpose their meat scraps, the Le Burger is more like a steak passing as a burger.  The blend is 90% dry-aged ribeye and 10% a mix of short loin, brisket, and chuck.  Thus, Mar and her team at Le B. cook it like a steak, grilling it for a long time, letting it rest, and then topping it with caramelized onions and a melt of triple crème d’Affinois cheese. 

I mean, come on…  That’s burger nirvana, right there!

A TASTE OF SARTIANO’S
A Master Class and Lunch with Alfred Portale and Michael Rubinstein
Friday, September 26 | 12 PM | SW Steakhouse

I’ve been excited for the upcoming opening of Zero Bond at Wynn Las vegas (and all that entails), for more than a year now, but never more than after Chefs Alfred Portale (Culinary Director, Sartiano’s and Zero Bond) and Michael Rubenstein (Executive Chef, Sartiano’s Italian Steakhouse and Zero Bond Las Vegas) presented us with a culinary preview of what’s to come at these exciting new venues.  Sure, the crudo was fantastic, but the star of the show was the pasta they prepared and then served to those of us in attendance, Handmade Ricotta Cavatelli in Broccoli Rabe Pesto with Spicy Italian Sausage.  It might well have been one of the best pastas I’ve eaten in a long time (and, not for nothing, I was in Italy a few months ago)!  It was so good, in fact, that when Chef Michael asked if there were any questions, I asked how I could get more.  And when he replied that they wouldn’t be open until January, but that I was welcome to come to New York, I said something along the lines of “Ummm, I appreciate that, but I didn't mean in the future. I meant right now, like another portion!”  And just so y'all know, as I write about this wonderfully zesty pasta, I'm salivating from the memory.

A NIGHT OF REVELRY
All-Star Chefs Dinner with JJ Johnson, Gavin Kaysen, Fariyal Abdullahi, Angie Mar, Christopher Lee, Jennifer Yee, and Juan Contreras
Friday, September 26 | 7 PM | Delilah

I hadn’t actually planned on attending A Night of Revelry, as I was worried that after all of these meals I’d need a last-minute angioplasty as a result of the arterial obstruction I’d no doubt developed after so many incredible back-to-back multi-course gourmet meals that (let’s face it) might as well have been sponsored by the Butter Churners Guild of America.  But, having not yet succumbed to REVELRY, I went.  And once again, I was dazzled by the culinary wizardry performed by this incredible roster of chefs, including Chef JJ Johnson (Chef/Owner, Fieldtrip | New York, NY), Chef Gavin Kaysen (Chef/Owner, Spoon and Stable, Demi, and Mara | Minneapolis, MN), Chef Fariyal Abdullahi (Executive Chef, Hav & Mar | New York, NY), Chef Angie Mar (Chef/Proprietor, Restaurant Le B. | New York, NY), Chef Christopher Lee (VP of Culinary Operations and Restaurant Development, Wynn Las Vegas), Chef Jennifer Yee (Executive Pastry Chef, Wynn Las Vegas), and Chef Juan Contreras (Pâtissier, Atelier Crenn | San Francisco, CA).

It was a close call, and while Chef Christopher’s Japanese Wagyu Beef Tenderloin topped with a Smoked Brisket Tortelloni was incredibly tender and tasty; I was so enchanted by Chef Angie’s Pigeonneaux Paradis—partly because I couldn’t believe I was eating squab for the second time that week (thanks to Chef JP's entrée during Tuesday's A Twist of Plates dinner), and partly because the sauce of compressed grapes, red current, and sherry was so excellent that I relocated my mashed potatoes so they could soak in it—that, after deboning the teeny-tiny wing as best I could with my knife and fork, I threw caution (and etiquette) to the wind, picked it up, and ate it like the world’s smallest chicken drumstick.  As an added bonus to my self-esteem, doing so made me feel positively Brobdingnagian.

I’d also like to add that once again, Chef Jennifer Yee totally blew me away: This time with her “Hot and Cold” Chocolate, which my taste buds found to be akin to a gourmet version of the Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity III. 

And while the final event of REVELRY, The Icons Dinner, was by all accounts wonderfully exquisite; by the time that dinner began on Saturday evening, I’d already been unconscious and in full-on hibernation mode for a few hours.

Congratulations to all the amazing chefs, the teams at each of these incredible restaurants, and everyone involved in REVELRY, which I realize fully exemplifies what Mae West was talking about when she quipped that sometimes, “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”

REVELRY 2025
Wynn Las Vegas
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