I'm still reeling from this past Saturday night, it was an amazing experience!
A group of students from my school and one other local school were given the opportunity to volunteer for this event, and I just happened to be among the fortunate selected. We helped prepare food for a party with about 350 guests, hosted by Food and Wine magazine. The magazine had invited some of Bravo's "Top Chef" former contestants and other chefs to prepare dishes for the event. It was at the Aria pool at City Center, a really stunning setting.
We arrived at 10am, and were there until 11pm, so it was a long day, but there was a 4-hour block of relaxing around the casino, so it wasn't a problem for me at all. Some of the other students actually left because they were tired of waiting, and missed out on all the fun and excitement.
Four of us met Carla Hall (Top Chef season 5 finalist) in the Aria banquet kitchen and started helping her prep for the night's activities. Another group helped Hosea Rosenberg (Top Chef season 5 winner) get his pork belly with pomegranate molasses ready for the night.
After a break, Fabio Viviani (Top Chef season 5) showed up in the kitchen, to make his dish. I've never seen anyone whip out gnocchi so quickly... it was impressive! I met him once before, he was hosting a competition I participated in before I went to Italy, but I don't think he remembered me. That's okay, I still got my picture with him!
Then Chef Carla returned and we got everything ready to go up to the event area by the pool. She made a vegetable tagine, seasoned with harissa, fried chickpeas, couscous with candied citrus, lemon-scented olive tapenade, and some pita seasoned with za'atar. The dish had layers of spices, and was really rich and flavorful. The smell of the fried chickpeas cooking alone was enough to woo me.
I learned a lot in a short time working with her, and really enjoyed her manner in the kitchen. She was cheery, down-to-earth, and confidant, and was thanking us for helping her prep for the night. She was an honor to work for, really.
The hotel had a beautiful set-up by the pool, framed by City Center's ridiculously modern architecture. There were beautiful women wandering around in mini "chef coat" dresses, bars made of ice, and stained glass backdrops to each of the chef's booths. I was able to get a picture with Hosea before trying his pork belly dish.
Some of the restaurants inside of the hotel had booths set up as well, above is the FABULOUS 30 day dry-aged porterhouse steak from Union Grill. There were so many of these beautiful chunks of meat over the wood flame I was surprised the table didn't collapse! The smell wafting from their corner was also pretty hypnotic...
Jean Phillippe patisserie (he's the executive pastry chef for Aria and Bellagio) had two mini desserts for guests to try (both were really great) and two crazy sugar sculptures set up, with real live goldfish swimming in bowls set into the sugar!
There were also booths from Jean-Georges Vongerichten's steakhouse, Michael Mina's American Fish, Sirio Maccioni, and Julian Serrano. The food from all of the booths was outstanding. I was also happy to see the chefs from Jean-Georges, they seemed very happy to see me, and invited me to come back and stage for them again, (I was there earlier this year) a chance I gladly accepted!
Jennifer Carroll (Top Chef season 6) had a really nice dish featuring octopus at her table.
And Hubert Keller thanked me for helping on his "Secrets of a Chef" set!
Rick Moonen was there, signing his "Fish Without a Doubt" book, of which I now have a copy. He was a judge at the same competition I met Fabio Viviani at earlier this year. He also agreed to let me come in and stage at his restaurant, which is super exciting, I'm a big fan of his food!
Carla was also sweet enough to introduce me to Gail Simmons, who I really wanted to meet. She's a judge on Top Chef, a food writer/critic, and also has a great background in some of New York's fine restaurants.
Overall, it was an amazing experience, and I'm still floating on cloud nine from the night. All of the chefs were very personable and friendly. I really admire all of them for their talents, and their diverse culinary styles. It was such a great night, I made some really awesome networking contacts, and got to have fun and work with talented chefs.
The delicious food was also inspiring, and I would love to thank The Art Institute, Aria Hotel, Food and Wine magazine, and all of the incredible chefs for this opportunity. I'm amazed and humbled at having the chance to be present for this!
Until next time, adios!
After a break, Fabio Viviani (Top Chef season 5) showed up in the kitchen, to make his dish. I've never seen anyone whip out gnocchi so quickly... it was impressive! I met him once before, he was hosting a competition I participated in before I went to Italy, but I don't think he remembered me. That's okay, I still got my picture with him! 
Then Chef Carla returned and we got everything ready to go up to the event area by the pool. She made a vegetable tagine, seasoned with harissa, fried chickpeas, couscous with candied citrus, lemon-scented olive tapenade, and some pita seasoned with za'atar. The dish had layers of spices, and was really rich and flavorful. The smell of the fried chickpeas cooking alone was enough to woo me.
The hotel had a beautiful set-up by the pool, framed by City Center's ridiculously modern architecture. There were beautiful women wandering around in mini "chef coat" dresses, bars made of ice, and stained glass backdrops to each of the chef's booths. I was able to get a picture with Hosea before trying his pork belly dish.
Some of the restaurants inside of the hotel had booths set up as well, above is the FABULOUS 30 day dry-aged porterhouse steak from Union Grill. There were so many of these beautiful chunks of meat over the wood flame I was surprised the table didn't collapse! The smell wafting from their corner was also pretty hypnotic...
Jean Phillippe patisserie (he's the executive pastry chef for Aria and Bellagio) had two mini desserts for guests to try (both were really great) and two crazy sugar sculptures set up, with real live goldfish swimming in bowls set into the sugar!
Jennifer Carroll (Top Chef season 6) had a really nice dish featuring octopus at her table.
And Hubert Keller thanked me for helping on his "Secrets of a Chef" set!
Rick Moonen was there, signing his "Fish Without a Doubt" book, of which I now have a copy. He was a judge at the same competition I met Fabio Viviani at earlier this year. He also agreed to let me come in and stage at his restaurant, which is super exciting, I'm a big fan of his food!
Carla was also sweet enough to introduce me to Gail Simmons, who I really wanted to meet. She's a judge on Top Chef, a food writer/critic, and also has a great background in some of New York's fine restaurants. 
Loved this post and your inside view of this event, Athena! With your permission, I'd like to link to it on AllTopChef.com. Would you be kind enough to email me at alltopchef@gmail.com so we could discuss? Thanks!
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