Happy Holidays!

Since I last wrote, I’ve been immersed in one of the busiest travel seasons of my career. After opening Market in Boston, I flew to Scottsdale to change the menu at J&G Steakhouse in the Phoenician and to cook for a James Beard dinner there. I then jetted to Paris where I changed the menu at Market and began the earliest stages of opening another restaurant in the city of lights. Upon returning to the states, I headed to Hawaii to open the Kauai Grill in the St. Regis Princeville Resort.
I took a short break to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, then headed to Utah to open J&G Grill in the St. Regis Deer Crest Resort. I’m now in Las Vegas opening Jean Georges Steakhouse in the new City
Center.
It’s been a whirlwind and I’ve loved every second of it. Deer Crest was especially exciting because it’s my first ski resort restaurant. Needless to say, the setting is gorgeous. I took this video of the train that takes you from the village to the resort because it reminds me so much of the ski villages in Switzerland.
The hotel and restaurant are situated in the middle of the mountain, so we designed the restaurant to match the beautiful surroundings. A big communal table sits near the fireplace and stunning works of art adorn the walls. For the tables, I chose simple arrangements of pine cones.
I grew up near the mountains in Alsace and thoroughly enjoyed creating the sort of dishes that I love eating after skiing. And yes, I did hit the slopes. James Gersten, the president of Culinary Concepts, and I took a much-needed break to check out the runs at Deer Crest. (They’re great.)
Las Vegas has been just as fun, albeit in a very different way. On Tuesday night, we hosted a huge cocktail opening for 6,000. Last night, we had our official opening. Both went well and I’m staying here a few more days to make sure everything runs smoothly.
After that, I’m going to reunite with Marja and Chloe for a two-week vacation. This amazing string of openings has been successful and fun, but nothing compares to spending time with family. I hope you have a wonderful holiday with loved ones too.
Happy holidays!