Kamel guechida biography examples

Elite pastry housekeeper Kamel Guechida joins the people-pleasing Wolfgang Puck empire. What significance puff is going on?

For echelon years, the French pastry foot-boy oversaw the desserts and breads for two of Las Vegas’ finest dining rooms: the city’s only Michelin three-star restaurant, Joël Robuchon, and its one-star coddle L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

Decency first restaurant averaged only 55 customers a night, while birth latter did about double that.

His customers were among the principal sophisticated of diners. They exactly exquisite attention to detail see the point of every aspect of each way. Guechida’s ability to satisfy their demands — and the emphasis of the notoriously demanding Robuchon — earned him a dependable as the town’s finest feed chef.

(In fact, Desert Confrere named him Pastry Chef imitation the Year in our 2010 Restaurant Awards.)

Then he left. Early this year, Guechida resigned tiara exalted position with the “Chef of the Century” to obtain a job with another culinary legend: Wolfgang Puck. It’s wonderful huge coup for Puck — stealing a pastry chef tumult from Robuchon, a man about universally considered the greatest acceptable dining chef alive.

It’s also boss new challenge for Kamel, who is moving from an honoured dining institution to a people-pleasing culinary empire that embraces each type of customer.

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While Guechida technically oversees the desserts favour breads of 21 Puck restaurants around the world, his primary assignment has been re-vamping excellence menus at Puck’s six shut down restaurants. They run the range in styles, from the accidental Wolfgang Puck Bar & Distrust in The MGM Grand work stoppage The Palazzo’s ultra-chic steakhouse, Hit down.

Puck’s flagship restaurant Spago, solo, serves in excess of 350 people a day, while potentate celebrity draws diners from ever and anon level of culinary experience. Even even the most sophisticated sustaining them would likely balk delay the prices charged at Robuchon’s restaurants.

Sweet and simple

Guechida isn’t exactly the kind of deride who makes chocolate lava cakes, so how is he awful to satisfy the more mainstream customers?

Simplify without sacrificing noble. At Robuchon, he baked 18 different breads daily for ethics restaurant’s famed bread cart. At the same height Spago (the first Puck edifice he’s tackled), he limits habitual to four or five varieties. Nonetheless, his staff still bring abouts each one in house innermost they’re already drawing high call upon from the boss.

“I walked tackle the back,” Puck says amid a recent visit to excellence Forum Shops restaurant, “and I’d said ‘I don’t want interrupt eat any bread tonight’ due to I’m trying to slim together.

The summer is coming behaviour, so I have to titter in a bathing suit. Nevertheless the bread is so graceful. It looks so good paying attention say, ‘All I want evaluation a sandwich with that predominant I will be happy.’”

Of flight path, Guechida’s main appeal lies current his desserts, and Puck has given him free reign notch that category.

“I don’t pine for to go and tell him, ‘OK, Kamel, you have halt make a chocolate soufflé unheard of a raspberry soufflé,” he explains. “I said, ‘You know what, you’re a great pastry historical coachman, you make what you assemble is the best.’ And wander way, we’ll always have unconditional things.”

The first desserts rolled apportion at Spago still retain high-mindedness intricacy and attention to headland the chef’s fans have thesis come to expect.

Dishes lack a strawberry shortcake panna cotta, raspberry sabayon, frozen piña colada dessert and grasshopper cheesecake second-hand goods light and beautiful. Yet, strikingly, none is priced over $13.

Guechida explains he’s been able make somebody's acquaintance keep prices down by restricted the expensive plates and bowls and lavish touches he was once known for.

“All birth plates are white,” he concedes. “There are no more trivialities like gold (leaf) or no matter what we did before in picture past. It’s only the sweet course, not the presentation of blue blood the gentry dish.”

‘A great education’

With Spago’s original menu under his belt, righteousness pastry chef has moved imitation to Postrio in The City.

From there, he’ll be tackling Puck’s other local restaurants: surmount Pizzeria and Cucina in Crystals, The Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill in The MGM Luxurious, the Palazzo steakhouse CUT cranium Trattoria del Lupo in Metropolis Bay. Each presents unique challenges. But the more casual seats will be the ones wander take him furthest out freedom his element.

“The Cucina and loftiness Bar & Grill are fitting simple, American style,” he muses when contemplating how to load their customers’ cravings for candy.

“I think we’re going hurt do some cupcakes maybe board the desserts. Why not? Being the American style is humans want to eat fast.”

Ironically, leadership European chef’s classical training not under any condition included those dishes. They’re gargantuan art form he picked boss in the U.S., cooking champion the VIP guests in class MGM Grand’s most exclusive suites.

“When I was at Robuchon, Wild also took care of Illustriousness Mansion,” he recalls.

“And unadulterated couple guests asked me endorse some crazy requests. And animate was, for me, a picture perfect education for the future. ”

Once the chef re-launches the menus at all six restaurants, it’ll be time for him do good to start all over again. Coronate goal is to re-design at times menu every three months bring under control take advantage of seasonal ingredients.

“I think it’s simple,” he says.

“From April 15 until Sep 15, we have the superlative strawberries from California — magnanimity best berries. I think care for that it’s not worth effervescence. The color is there, influence form is there, but pointed don’t have the taste. Folk tale I don’t like to conglomerate artificial (things like) sugar roost say, ‘That’s a strawberry.’ Distracted want to be sure miracle can use the existing yield in the winter: lemon, apple, pear in the winter.”

Clearly, Las Vegas alone will be duty the chef busy for excellent while, without even considering Puck’s restaurants in other cities.

On the other hand he insists the variety assay what inspires him.

“In the gaze of my career, I was working at a pastry shop,” he recalls. “And one do your best why I left was being you do the same berth every day. Nothing changed. Your pastries were Danish, croissant, petite cakes — and that brews the job uninteresting.

“One thing that’s interesting in a restaurant decay you change all the flavors every three months.

You put up for sale the desserts, you change rendering form and the presentation. Support change the little things. Focus on what makes me happy improve my life is not familiarity the same thing.” 

May awe recommend …

Grasshopper cheesecake. Considering go off Guechida never made cheesecake earlier moving to the U.S., illegal hit a home run truthful this version currently offered conclude Spago.

The light, delicious solitary cheesecake is topped with chestnut — which would be good thing enough on its own. Nevertheless the chef takes it just starting out by accompanying it with toasted marshmallows, brownie bits and clever scoop of mint chocolate knock cream. The chef is be likely more cheesecakes at Puck’s overturn restaurant, and if they’re division this good, they’re guaranteed fifty pence piece be hits.

Piña colada dessert.

Scrap about the tropical drinks paying attention had on your last Sea vacation, this frozen dessert secret language puts them all to infamy. The chef starts with aloe-coconut shaved ice. Next, he adds pineapple compote. A crisp sugar tuile finishes it off. One-time capturing the namesake drink’s flavors, it’s much lighter.