Bryan Ogden, Director of culinary development, Sugar Factory (Paris Las Vegas) & Partner, Munchbar (Caesars Palace)

“The one thing that always stays the same, never changes—and the older I get the more passionate I become about it—is working with seasonal produce and ingredients. I was just in LA at the Farmers’ Market, and all these different kinds of squash are starting to come in: butternut, acorn, heirlooms like blue hubbard that you don’t see much. We never stop experimenting and trying new things, and we let the market dictate what we’ll do. Sometimes I’ll just order 10 pounds of the freshest fish available, and I don’t know what it is until it hits the back door. Then it’s all about thinking what’s the best cooking method, what will go best together. … Cooking is very spontaneous. All your ingredients are always changing, so you have to treat them that way.”