Still Las Vegas’ biggest food weekend, Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appétit, returns April 27-30 with various events set for Caesars Palace, the Venetian, the Cosmopolitan, the Cromwell, Delano Las Vegas, the Park and Bellagio.
Once again, a lengthy roster of celebrity chefs will participate with exclusive dinners and demonstrations, including Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, Guy Savoy, José Andrés, Wolfgang Puck, Scott Conant, Bobby Flay, Nobu Matsuhisa, Michael Mina, Gordon Ramsay, Julian Serrano and Buddy Valastro. More events will almost certainly be revealed later, but for now, a complete schedule and ticket information can be found at at vegasuncorked.com.
The best parts about the initial Uncork’d announcement are browsing the schedule to pick out the most interesting events and reading between the lines to speculate on what might be happening in Las Vegas when the food fest is gone. Three things jump out:
1. Chef Timon Balloo is hosting a “three-kitchen tasting” dinner at his new Sugarcane at the Venetian on April 27. Sugarcane arrived late last year and has gone relatively unnoticed, yet it might be one of the brightest and best new restaurants on the Strip. This event could be a sleeper hit.
2. The Grand Tasting (April 28) is always the centerpiece at Uncork’d, but the following Saturday brings “Picnic in the Park,” an outdoor super-feast with MGM Resorts chefs Mina, Serrano, Alain Ducasse, Charlie Palmer, Shawn McClain, Roy Ellamar, Akira Back and more, all coming together in the shadow of the Bliss Dance art installation at the Park near T-Mobile Arena. Tickets for this event cost $199 and $249, with another round set to be released February 8.
3. Also participating in that picnic: Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, who just opened a killer steakhouse at MGM National Harbor in Washington, D.C. There’s a history of chefs dipping into Uncork’d right before opening Vegas restaurants, and a Voltaggio rep says this is the first time in 11 years non-Vegas chefs have participated. With MGM essentially building a new resort at the Monte Carlo, we might see the Top Chef brothers find a permanent Strip spot.
