Surviving Sin City
Vegas and I have never gotten along. Each time I travel to Sin City, I count down the hours until I can leave. I am not a fan of gambling, excessive smoking, or the nonstop noise and lights. I have never even attended a Vegas show! But every few years, business takes me to Sin City.
Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a product showcase as a sous chef for Chef Rasheed Philips. Rasheed was tasked with preparing food for thousands of attendees at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and I was excited to capture content and meet with many of the brand partners attending the showcase. We arrived late on Sunday evening to begin preparations for what we were told would be the highest-attended showcase in recent memory – the perfect opportunity to put on a show!
Masterbuilt put us up at the Mandalay Bay hotel, which offered stunning views of both the Las Vegas desert and Strip. While our rooms were on completely different floors, we both enjoyed different perspectives of the city when we had time to rest. But when you are in Vegas, there isn’t much time for rest. As soon as Monday came around, it was time to get to work.
The hotel would host attendees from all over North America, but they would not begin arriving until Tuesday evening for the Wednesday opening. We used the gap between our arrival and the beginning of the event to prepare for the crowds.
Our first stop on Monday was the local Restaurant Depot for cooking supplies. Part of our role was to procure supplies since Mandalay Bay was restrictive regarding access to their own. This included food, cooking utensils, and even water. Initially, I found this strange, but it made more sense once I thought about it. Water in this region is scarce, and casinos are notorious for giving nothing away unless they can guarantee a good ROI.
When we arrived at the Restaurant Depot, we quickly scoured the store for supplies along with our good friend from Masterbuilt, Michele, and outer chef counterparts who would be cooking on a set of Kamado Joe smokers, Chef Eric and Chef Dave. We did our best "Supermarket Sweep" impression before hitting our first obstacle – a lack of lamb.
The largest restaurant supplier in the area was out of the key ingredient in Rasheed's signature dish, curry leg of lamb. Luckily, Michele had contacts, and she began making calls to source our meat. Unfortunately, the meat would not be there that afternoon but we were relieved to know it would at least be available when needed.
After returning to the hotel convention center, we took a little time to visit some friends over at the Gozney tent. It was great to see some friends. We had recently worked with them during our adventure at The Roost Festival in Connecticut. We took some time to mingle and check out the other vendor displays before getting back to work.
As we neared the end of our prep, unseasonably windy and rainy weather came in from the mountains. Since our prep had to take place in a tent outside the convention center, we were forced to wrap up and head back inside. This preparation would be key to allowing us to get ahead so we could successfully feed the crowd the next day.
The extra effort beforehand paid off on Wednesday, as we fed hundreds. Instead of patting ourselves on the back in celebration, we decided to do the sensible thing and begin preparing for day two — the executive lunch.
Rasheed sliced the lamb while I made enough tzatziki sauce to feed an army. And just like the first day, we were thankful for the extra preparation as the much larger crowds rolled in on Thursday.
Rasheed manned the grill while I served up as much food as I could. A change in plans led to us having to feed not only the executives but the entire crowd. Luckily, Rasheed always prepares for these types of situations, so there was plenty of food to go around. Chef Eric and Chef Dave were also a huge help, providing tons of food to feed the masses. By the time the last attendee grabbed their plate, we were exhausted.
But that didn't stop us from getting ready for more work and networking in the evening.
We took both evenings as opportunities to network instead of resting. The great thing about these types of events is that they bring all the big brand executives to you instead of having to go to them. As I have learned over the last few trips, those opportunities are priceless. While in town, we took as many lunches, dinners, and drink meetings as we could. These were valuable opportunities to build relationships.
Overall, this trip to Vegas wasn't too bad. But not because I suddenly changed my mind about the city – it's still a chaotic place. But it's also a city where relationships can be built and opportunities can be found. Any place offering that combination is a place I want to be.
