Dining

[Chef Talk]

Chef Jean Paul Labadie’s sons love sushi

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He’s run kitchens on and off the Strip, and now Jean Paul Labadie is executive chef at Todd English P.U.B. at Crystals.
Photo: Christopher DeVargas

Todd English P.U.B. executive chef Jean Paul Labadie has had a diverse culinary career. After serving under Emeril Lagasse at both MGM’s Emeril’s and Palazzo’s Table 10, Labadie helmed Marché Bacchus and Garfield’s off-Strip. And then, missing the Strip’s controlled chaos, he returned to cook under the neon lights last year. Check out what he likes when he’s not entertaining tourists and locals.

Favorite Sunday escape: “One of my favorite things to do on Sundays is to pick up my boys and head to Whole Foods. We grab some salami, some olives from the olive bar and browse the hundreds of selections of cheese. The boys like to time me to see how long it takes me to pick out the cheeses. It’s one of our favorite games to play. I think I average about 19 minutes a visit!”

Favorite Sushi: “I love Sen of Japan, but I have growing boys, so I like to take them to Sushi Mon [on Sahara]. The boys both just found sushi about a year ago, and now they can’t get enough. We’ll go there and have a couple of pounds of sushi. I like that they’re trying new things. They just recently tried uni—they liked it until they found out it was sea urchin!”

Least favorite food trend: “I’m glad molecular gastronomy kind of came and went. I was never a big fan. If I’m eating an olive I want to know it’s an olive. I know it has its place, but I’d never really gotten into it, so I’m glad it’s not as popular as it used to be. Same thing with sous-vide. I think people sous-vide the crap out of everything. I know it has its benefits, but I still like to see the sauté pan being used.”

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