Dining

Robert Camacho’s culinary curiosity began at eight years old when he would prepare authentic Mexican dishes in his grandmother’s kitchen. Despite his young age, the Riverside, Calif., native noticed how a meal has the power to bring people together. Camacho’s childhood passion transitioned into a full-time career when he earned a Culinary Arts degree from Riverside Community College Culinary Academy in 2002.
 

While attending culinary school, Camacho held a position at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa’s award-winning Napa Rose restaurant. Camacho first adopted an ingredient-driven approach to cooking while at Napa Rose, where he focused on providing guests with farm-forward fare using the freshest locally grown, seasonal produce. 

LOCATION                           Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
                                             3950 Las Vegas Blvd., S.         
                                             Casino level near the convention center

DATE ESTABLISHED          August 8, 2016            

CHEF/

MANAGING PARTNER        Shawn McClain

EXECUTIVE CHEF              Jamaal Taherzadeh

HOURS                                   Restaurant: 5 p.m. – 11 p.m., daily
                                                Lounge: 3 p.m. – 11 p.m., daily

Alexandre Gregoire stepped into the role of executive chef at the renowned Aureole by Charlie Palmer in January 2018. When approaching the restaurant’s menu, his desire was not to change what customers expect from Aureole, but to enhance their experience with French influence based on his expert training under renowned chef Alain Ducasse. Gregoire understands what guests want when they come to dine at his restaurant: delicious flavors, recognizable foods and amazing quality. He values fresh ingredients, from-scratch dishes and a simplistic menu with complex components. His philosophy is that dishes should not be too complicated and the flavors should speak for themselves.

Gregoire discovered his love of the kitchen early in life. As a toddler, he curiously watched as his great-grandmother prepared elaborate meals for his family as well as for her own restaurant in his hometown of Nantes, France. He inherited her meticulous cooking skills and passion for creation in the kitchen, a trait Gregoire believes runs in his family’s blood.

LOCATION                           Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
                                              3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd.          
                                            Casino level near the Main Lobby                                 

DATE ESTABLISHED          Friday, Feb. 1, 2019

OVERVIEW                           Hazel Coffee | Cocktails offers a wide variety of signature cocktails, specialty coffees, sweet and savory                                               breakfast and lunch offerings and live performances featuring local entertainers.

HOURS                                   Sunday – Thursday:  5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
                                                Friday – Saturday:  5 a.m. to 2 a.m.

RESERVATIONS                  Recommended by calling (702) 632 - 7777

Enticing cultures and unique flavor profiles have always fascinated Jamaal Taherzadeh. In his current role as executive chef at Libertine Social, a Chef Shawn McClain restaurant inside Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, he combines his many years of cooking ethnic cuisines with bold flavors from his Persian heritage to conceive social and innovative menus. His drive to create memorable dishes stems from his passion to craft conceptually familiar dishes utilizing unconventional methods, providing guests with an extraordinary dining experience at the award-winning restaurant.

Taherzadeh launched his culinary career in his hometown of Dallas in 2002 when he accepted a dishwasher position at Ciudad D.F., a traditional Mexican restaurant. Over the course of three years, his burgeoning skills and adaptability to work at each kitchen station took him from a dishwasher to sous chef, where he drove menu development and planned daily specials. In 2005, he embarked on a yearlong stint in the Las Vegas culinary scene, working as lead cook at acclaimed Japanese-fusion restaurant, Nobu at Caesar’s Palace. In April, he took a position as sous chef at Simon Restaurant and Bar inside Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and a few months later moved to San Francisco to be chef de cuisine at Impala Restaurant and Lounge. It was here that he developed various restaurant menus by blending his strong Mexican cuisine knowledge with South American ingredients and techniques. In March of 2006, One Industry Group opened Jones Steakhouse, also in San Francisco, and chose Taherzadeh as the opening executive chef.

Born in Korea and raised in Aspen, Colorado, Chef Akira Back brings a sense of adventure and boundless creativity to his culinary creations. As Executive Chef of the The Light Group’s  Kumi Japanese Restaurant + Bar at Mandalay Bay and the famed Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant & Lounge at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Chef Back’s enticing menus embody classic Japanese cuisine and always feature innovative dishes that use the freshest ingredients from the world’s top purveyors.

Before taking his turn in the kitchen, Chef Back spent his early years as a professional snowboarder in Colorado, appearing in extreme movies and garnering praise from the sport’s top trade publications. During this time, Back began working at local restaurants to supplement his income as an extreme sports athlete. After seven years on the pro-snowboarding circuit, Back realized that he felt the same thrill in the kitchen as he did on his board, shaping his decision to pursue a full-time culinary career.
Chef Back went on to study at the International Culinary School at The Art Institute in Colorado. In 1993, he began working at Kenichi in Aspen as Sushi Prep Cook and was later recruited to Kenichi in Austin, Texas and then in Kona, Hawaii, where he worked as the Opening Chef.

Combining his passions for adventure, travel and culinary exploration, Chef Back toured extensively throughout Japan and Europe, studying under top celebrity chefs and industry leaders, including Masaharu Morimoto and Brian Nagao. It was during this period that Chef Back learned the value of using rare and exotic ingredients. In 2003, Chef Back returned to Aspen to lead the kitchen as Executive Chef of Nobu Matsuhisa’s namesake restaurant. 

Hubert Keller, executive chef of Fleur by Hubert Keller and Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay, is one of America’s most widely recognized and acclaimed chefs. Keller’s whimsical flavors and aesthetically pleasing plate presentations are a result of his years of classical training with France’s top chefs. 
 
He has opened a host of world-renowned restaurants including Fleur de Lys San Francisco; his wildly popular Burger Bar restaurants in Las Vegas, St. Louis and San Francisco; as well as his cutting-edge SLeeK Steakhouse and Ultra Lounge in St. Louis.
 
Revered by his colleagues and fans, the Frenchman boasts a long list of accolades and awards including being named the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: California and among the Foundation’s prestigious Who’s Who in Food and Beverage. Food & Wine magazine tapped him as one of the “Ten Best Chefs in America” and Restaurants & Institutions gave him its Ivy Award.
 
Keller gained fame and notoriety appearing as a judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and as a contestant in the first season of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.” Following his success on the show, he was asked to serve as a resident judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef Just Desserts.” Keller also has appeared on “Live! With Regis & Kelly,” the “Rachael Ray Show,” “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” CBS’ “The Early Show,” “Extra,” the Travel Channel and the Food Network.  Keller has also recorded three seasons of his highly successful cooking show on PBS, “Hubert Keller: Secrets of a Chef.” 

Since the beginning of his celebrated career, master Chef and hospitality entrepreneur Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature Progressive American cooking, a style built on rambunctious flavors and unexpected combinations with a deep and lasting infusion of classical French cuisine. Charlie Palmer’s upbringing on a farm in upstate New York, along with his education in various kitchens in France and at The Culinary Institute of America, provided him with the wherewithal to form this unique style and ultimately strike out on his own.  In 1988, he made a significant commitment to creating dishes featuring regional American ingredients at his sublime Aureole, originally situated in a historic townhouse off Manhattan's Madison Avenue and now in a spectacular new location in the heart of New York City’s radiant theater district.
 
Over the years, Palmer combined his creative cooking spirit and flair for business to open twelve notable restaurants across the country, a growing collection of food-forward wine shops and award-winning boutique hotels. These include: Michelin-starred Aureole, café/catering venue Astra in New York; Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington, D.C.; Michelin-starred Aureole at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, and Charlie Palmer Steak at the Four Seasons, Las Vegas, NV; Charlie Palmer Steak and Briscola in Reno NV; Dry Creek Kitchen at his boutique Hotel Healdsburg, Sonoma County, CA, as well as, Charlie Palmer at the Joule, Dallas, TX; and Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, CA, both of which house Palmer’s Next Vintage wine shops. In 2010, Palmer introduced his first quick and casual burger restaurant, DG Burger (Damn Good), located adjacent to his restaurant in South Coast Plaza.  Chef Palmer continues to grow his restaurant group across the U.S., recently opening two new Denver casual eateries District Meats and Wazee Wood Fire Pizza in Fall 2011. 
 
In Spring 2012, Chef Palmer will launch his newest venture – a “chef-driven” boutique hotel located in San Francisco’s Union Square. Guests will receive a fresh approach to hospitality comprised of a cohesive, gracious and welcoming experience that permeates every moment of the stay. In addition, Chef Palmer and his team are proud to join the thriving San Francisco food community by introducing a new unparalleled dining experience, offering both visitors and neighbors a comfortable haven to enjoy fresh, local cuisine.

Location:                               Mandalay Bay

Cuisine:                                 Roman-style Trattoria with neighboring, regional influences

Hours of Operation:              Monday – Thursday, Sunday, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
                                                Friday – Saturday, 5 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Executive Chef:                     Michael Tiva

General Manager:                  Jason Jones