Press
04/01/2007
A European Classic: Experience Award-Winning Fine Dining
CELEBRITY CHEFS and fine restaurants located in top hotels have earned Las Vegas its reputation as a world-class dining destination.
Award-winning chef/restaurateur Andre Rochat, renowned for his commitment to gastronomy, preceded those exceptional culinary arrivals to the Las Vegas dining arena by a dozen years.
In 1980, the dedicated chef renovated a 1930s house into a French country restaurant in downtown Las Vegas. Andre's Restaurant, the oldest-known restaurant continuously operated under the same ownership at a single location in Las Vegas is a landmark.
The intense architectural design and characteristics of the multiple dining rooms offer a unique and vicarious experience in fine classic cuisine, served in a relaxed and quaint European ambiance.
Two years ago, in honor of the 25th anniversary of Andre's Restaurant, Mayor Oscar Goodman and the Las Vegas City Council presented Rochat with a proclamation naming June 30, 2005 as Chef Andre Rochat Day. They also renamed the corner street where Andre's Restaurant is located to Chef Andre Rochat Place. He is the only chef in Las Vegas to have a street named after him.
"I consider that award and naming of the street as the most appreciated (awards) I have received," says Rochat.
The chef maintains that the reason for continued recognition of Andre's as one of the top restaurants throughout the years is "consistency in quality and service."
His experiences in some of France's finest restaurants, the art of combining ingredients and flavors, and adhering to traditional cooking techniques are definitely contributing factors toward success.
"I am attuned to classic cuisine with focus on the main product," says Rochat. "It is about flavors. All accompaniments, including wine, complement the main product ... no coverups ... real food," exclaims the award-winning chef.
Rochat's philosophy of exquisite classic cuisine can be experienced in such entrees as roasted Colorado lamb, sautéed Dover sole, fillet of beef au poivre, diver sea scallops en papillote, pan seared magret of duck, and daily fish specials. However, the definitive dining experience at Andre's Restaurant is a seven-course tasting menu, as well as the exceptional wine-food pairing dinners scheduled periodically.
An excellent selection of domestic and imported cheese is available before desserts, with chocolate, and Grand Marnier soufflés topping the selection.
Rochat is serious about his wine inventory, housed in a real wine cellar, and is an enthusiast of fine cognac and Armagnac, with selections second to none.
He has earned the unique distinction as the only Las Vegas chef with three existing AAA Four-Diamond-rated restaurants: Andre's Restaurant downtown, Alizé at Top of The Palms and Andre's Restaurant at The Monte Carlo.
Volumes can be written about Rochat, who has received numerous awards and accolades. But many restaurant critics, and loyal patrons say it is "quite simply the best!"
