Jean Louis Dinner Recap

my dish: a Composition of the sea, marinated geoduck clam, octopus, fresh sea urchin, urchin panna cotta, lobster meringue, oyster leaf, vanilla gelee, fresno chili, sea water dashi froth, nasturtium, garlic chips and crsip taro

what a great group of chefs !

story by Robin Leach:
It was a feast fit for a king and served by the royalty of the Las Vegas culinary world. Even renowned three-star Michelin star Chef Pierre Gagnaire flew in from France to join the 17 chefs who prepared the 18 courses for the magnificent meal at the 10th anniversary Jean-Louis Palladin dinner at Alize atop the Palms.




I had the privilege and honor again of hosting the exclusive event for 100 food fanatics who each paid $300 for the torrent of taste treats. It all serves as a fundraiser for culinary grants to working chefs administered through the James Beard Foundation in Jean-Louis’ name. I knew him way back when at the prestigious Watergate in Washington, D.C., and here when he ran the grill of Napa at the Rio. He was the youngest French chef to win two Michelin stars.



Sadly, he died from lung cancer complications at age 55 in November 2001. He was considered one of the 20th century’s culinary geniuses, single-handedly raising the level of cuisine in America and creating a brotherhood of chefs.



Jean-Louis was given a “papal blessing” by the renowned Julia Child on her PBS shows for bridging a path between his native French culture to Nouvelle American Cuisine with his culinary innovations. Chefs in America today acknowledge his lasting influence on the national dining scene.



The dinner has been an annual devotion for the past decade by friend and Alize owner Andre Rochat, who also owns Andre’s at the Monte Carlo. He recruited celebrated names for this year’s salute at his restaurant 56 floors atop Palms: Pascal Sanchez, Twist by Pierre Gagnaire; Mark Purdy, Alize; Arnaud Masset, Mandalay Bay; Joung Sohn, Eiffel Tower; Luciano Pellegrini, Valentino; Grant McPherson, Scotch Mist; Royden Ellamar, Sensi; Brian Howard, Comme Ca; Gregory Pugin, Le Cirque; Vincent Pouessel, Aureole; Barry Dakake, N9NE Steakhouse; Geno Bernardo, Nove Italiano; Laurent Pillard, Fleur; Jean-Philippe Dufoin, Creative Catering; Megan Romano, Aureole; Bryan Podgorski, Bouchon; and Tammy Alana, Andre’s.



We presented each chef with a rare majestic bottle of tequila. They saved it until after the kitchen duties! Every item on the menu was taken from one of Jean-Louis’ recipes in his extraordinary cookbook Cooking for All Seasons. All of us gathered on the outside GhostBar patio for a group photograph.



Thanks to contributing photographer Tom Donoghue for his amazing (and super-sized) gallery that shows the chefs at work and play and many of the 18 courses served far better than I could ever describe.



I played auctioneer to raise additional funds, and high-speed artist Jean Francois, who maintains a home here, painted an amazing portrait of John Lennon between dessert and coffee, which we sold to a fan for $1,500. Luciano let me sell two truffle-tasting dinners at Valentino in the Venetian for another $3,000.



An extraordinary evening, a magnificent menu and a tremendous salute with a successful fundraiser to honor the memory of one of the first master top chefs to call Las Vegas home.