Columnist Muriel Stevens: Caesars Palace throws quite a garden party

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 8:23 a.m.

There was much more than fabulous food and drink at the Epicurean Affair at Caesars Palace on April 15. The Garden of the Gods, Caesars' fabulous pool arena, was an ideal setting.

This annual feast, sponsored by the Nevada Restaurant and Nevada Hotel and Lodging associations, was the final event for the two-day international hospitality trade show that preceded it. Visiting the exhibit hall is akin to visiting Tomorrowland.

NRA and NHLA President Van Heffner and his staff continually fine-tune the concept. In keeping with the times, the Epicurean Affair has evolved into an adult party with theatrics and entertainment (no one under age 21 is allowed to attend).

I made a vain attempt to walk the entire area, but was immediately sidetracked by the aromas wafting from the Caesars food booths. Bradley Ogden and company were grilling Kobe beef tenderloins, slicing them and putting the tender beef on briochelike buns to make the ultimate sliders.

At an adjacent booth, 8-0-8's Jean-Marie Josselin offered crab cakes with Asian slaw and a drizzle of zesty sauce. Josselin makes his home in San Diego, where he has another restaurant. The original 8-0-8 in Hawaii has an expert team of chefs, all of whom have been there since the beginning.

Tempting us to the corner spot with a dazzling display of desserts was Caesars' award-winning Pastry Chef, John Hui.

What a terrific start! With my friend in tow we started to circle the wagons, but, alas, we missed many. Probably because in my eagerness to visit all of the booths, I dropped the list of exhibitors.

Our next stop was to The Rio's splendid food, drink and art pavilion created by William Becker, The Rio's director of all culinary operations.

Each area was fashioned after a Rio restaurant. Bamboleo's presented a Maine lobster tostada. Antonio's offering was seared halibut with pancetta and polenta. Fiore was next in line with zesty andouille sausage wrapped in crispy hominy. VooDoo Cafe featured a seared duck breast with sweet potato gnocchi; Buzio's offered seared sea scallops and tossed them with chorizo mayonnaise and micro greens, and them came sweets from The Rio's expert bakers -- chocolate profiteroles, banana creme brulee and cookies. Exotic martinis made everybody happy.

Matching the colorful displays were John Charles MacPherson's "chaotic fractale art." Not edible, but a perfect match for the exhibit's theme. More about this later.

By the time I circled the course, the lines were long. Representatives of Smith & Wollensky were slicing as fast as they could, but were hard put to keep up with the demand. At Commander's Palace, all I could get was a peek over the heads of the crowd. CP Executive Chef Carlos Guia was joshing with the crowd while ladling out shrimp gazpacho.

Kevin Wu's Royal Star cooks were grilling crusty Mongolian lamb chops. What marvelous flavor. This year's event was a carnivore's delight. The stations offering meat were mobbed.

There was plenty of booze and babes galore. Funniest of all were some of the impromptu acts, which were experiencing identity crises. A duo of faceless aliens garbed in white silk tights with dervishlike twirling skirts was a curious sight.

"What are you supposed to be?" I asked. They stopped twirling and put their heads together. They conferred a bit and, finally, responded, "We don't know." The twirling resumed. It was a surreal bit of shtick. We loved it.

Drama even more surreal: The Epicurean Affair was at its peak when we decided to go to 8-0-8 for tea and dessert. Relaxed and in good humor after the circus that surrounded the feast, we drank green tea and shared a trio of creme brulee. When the check came I reached into my handbag for my wallet and turned to ice when I realized it wasn't there. There was no thought of being pick-pocketed, so I thought I'd dropped it during one of the many business card exchanges.

My next stop was to security to fill out a report. Security officer Rick Dickman was patient and kind while I tried to make sense of the missing wallet. I remembered putting my notebook and wallet into the bag I was taking with me. Step by step I recalled my actions. By now I was resigned to having to get a new everything: driver's license, bank card, credit cards and all the things we carry that are better left at home.

Officer Dickman assured me that if I'd dropped the wallet and an employee found it, it would be returned. And then he said, "Is it possible you never put it in your bag? Is there someone you can call to check?" A friend found it in the handbag I'd thought I'd removed it from. It was on top as if I'd started to remove it and was then diverted, which was exactly what I'd done.

Wishing I had one of the many drinks I'd refused earlier, I returned to 8-0-8 for my friend and to tell the tale to all who had shared my angst. My friend paid the bill. I drove home, carefully. I was driving without a license. Thanks to Officer Dickman and to all the caring staff at 8-0-8 and Caesars.

Major makeover at Olives at Bellagio: Olives, the celebrated Todd English eatery at Bellagio, will undergo a major renovation beginning the first week in June. The redo by noted designer Jeffrey Beers is expected to be completed by the end of August. Olives will be closed while Beers works his magic. The redesign will incorporate a more traditional look with the warmth and style of the original Olives in Charleston, Mass.

Among the signature elements will be the trademark chef's farm table with a view into the open kitchen. It's ideal for large parties. Chef Todd will be in Las Vegas during the renovation. His family of restaurants has grown considerably since he opened the flagship location in Charlestown.

There are more than a dozen stylish, high-end, multiconcept restaurants spanning the country, including four Figs, a Bonfire Steakhouse in Boston, Tuscany at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, Fish Club in Seattle, bluezoo at the Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla.; KingFish Hall in Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Todd English on the Cunard's Queen Mary 2.

Short orders

Spring and Organic Cooking at Four Seasons: Four Seasons at Mandalay Bay is offering the latest in its series of Cuisines for all Seasons cooking classes Wednesday. Each class is themed and begins with a reception. Then it is off to the banquet kitchen for the full dinner demonstration by the executive chef. Guests get to taste each dish as it's completed. Between courses enjoy such added pleasures as napkin folding, flower decorating and more. It's casual, it's fun and it's free. Among the menu items is chimichurri marinated skirt steak.

The reception begins at 6 p.m; cooking demo follows at 6:30 p.m. Space is limited.

Ethel M teaches chocolate: Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Ethel M Chocolates at The District at Green Valley Ranch will offer a free tasting of Ethel M Chocolates, along with information about the process it takes to create each scrumptious confection. Participants will be encouraged to indulge in the wide array of chocolates created by the Las Vegas chocolatier. If students got an assignment like this, there would be no dropouts.

Get ready for Taste of the Nation: May 6 is the date for Taste of the Nation, an annual hunger-feeding fund-raiser sponsored by Share Our Strength. This year's local beneficiaries are Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, Community Food Bank and Chef and Child Foundation. Aramark Executive Chef Jesus Cibrian is the event coordinator. Tickets are $50 in advance or $60 at the door. Call 943-6868. Taste of the Nation will take place at the South Hall Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center on Paradise Road.

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