Leave it to Steve Wynn to get folks thinking differently about Las Vegas. He was the first to envision a four-star property downtown, revivifying the Golden Nugget hotel-casino in 1977. Wynn ushered in the megaresort era with the 1989 opening of the Mirage. In 1999, the casino mogul introduced five-star luxury with Bellagio. Now, the man largely responsible for shaping Vegas’ modern image wants to change the way people eat.
On a trip to St. Tropez, Wynn noticed that his friend Gulu Lalvani, founder and chairman of digital cordless phone manufacturer Binatone, had dropped 50 pounds. Lalvani gave the skeptical, meat-loving Wynn a copy of “Eating,” a DVD touting a vegan diet. Wynn the cynic become Wynn the convert. Once back in Las Vegas, he mandated that all 22 restaurants in his Las Vegas properties (Wynn and Encore) offer vegetarian options.
The man responsible for putting Wynn’s vision on a plate is Tal Ronnen. Among vegans, Ronnen is the equivalent of a celebrity chef. He has several claims to healthy-eating fame: prepared meals for Oprah Winfrey’s 21-day vegan cleanse; catered Ellen DeGeneres’ vegan wedding, AOL founder Arianna Huffington’s party at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the U.S. Senate’s first vegan dinner.
Ronnen is driving when I reach him—he splits time between Los Angeles and Canada. Contrary to the popular narrative, Ronnen said working with the notoriously hard-driving Wynn has been a pleasure. “It’s been an amazing experience because of the caliber of chefs he has,” he said. “It’s very unique when you have an outside chef coming in to help create really unique food that, in a lot of ways, hasn’t been done before.”
Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Ronnen was nervous. First up was adding vegan options to the Wynn-monikered S.W. Steakhouse and Lakeside Grill, known for seafood. At Lakeside, he created vegan clam chowder with a non-dairy cream base made out of raw cashews. Smoked oyster mushrooms were used to mimic bacon’s twang and komdu (seaweed) for a seafood flavor. He used hearts of palms from Hawaii to create crab cakes.
At S.W. Steakhouse, Ronnen used lentils, white bean puree and other vegan substitutes for meat. “Protein in the United States is synonymous with meat, so I wanted to make sure that the entrees had a protein component. In America, we eat too much animal protein, which is why we lead the world in cancer and high blood pressure. The rest of the world uses healthier non-meat sources, plant-based sources, for their proteins.”
So far, the reception has been fantastic, Ronnen said. “You have 22 restaurants in one building doing vegan menus. I have no doubt that (Wynn and Encore) will be the epicenter of vegan food. You can have vegan pancakes for breakfast, vegan dumplings for lunch and vegan agnolotti with asparagus for dinner. Nowhere in the world do you have that much diversity in one place. It will become a destination for vegan eating.”
At Bon Appetit magazine’s recent Vegas Uncork’D food festival, Ronnen joined other top-flight Wynn chefs (Alex Stratta, Jet Tila, Mark LoRusso, David Walzog and Kim Canteenwalla) for Viva Las Vegan, an interactive tasting featuring meatless fare. More than 140 people sampled 12 dishes and talked with boutique farmers and growers who showcased their produce. Ronnen said the food wowed his guests.
“Whether vegan or a die-hard carnivore, people are surprised at how good vegan food tastes,” Ronnen said. “People may need a break from the partying and excess food that they eat in Vegas, so it’s great to have healthy, unique options. More celebrities and people are eating vegan. It wouldn’t surprise me if more properties follow in Wynn’s footsteps. This is not a sacrifice. Eating vegan at the Wynn is a step up.”
