Viva Las Vegas
A visit to Las Vegas in October 2002 was most inspiring. Luciano Pellegrini Chef and Partner at Valentino inside the Venetian has been a friend of mine since my days in Los Angeles, where he was the chef at Posto.
The menu is huge and changes constantly and business is brisk to say the least. To master it all, Luciano has a total restaurant staff of 120. That's a huge "family" for a restaurant, but believe me, they need every man. 
Every single thing at Valentino Menu is made from scratch by an astoundingly well trained crew of prep cooks. To my surprise I knew several of them, loyalty does pay off, some of the guys have been with Luciano and Piero for more then 10 years.


All pictures on this page are thumb nailed, click to enlarge

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Vincenzo making pasta

Pastry Shop action

Hot line action

Averaging 300 a la carte dinners a night, the team of eight line cooks and three pastry cooks are doing an incredible job of putting out a top notch product. 
Most nights they have to handle large groups. One night I witnessed a group of 80 being served four courses in middle of the regular a la carte biz, and they did it well. Bravo!

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Pastry Chef Alessandro

 Banquet Pick up

Pastry cook Adam

Praline Mousse
The food at Valentino ranges from simple and great to inspired (Foie Gras Bruleé)
The 15+Desserts by Italy import Alessandro are classics with new twists and very good.
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Tuna Carpaccio

Gnocchi with Duck Ragu

Veal Scaloppini 

Truffles over the Filetto