Andre's Las Vegas: The Original

03/05/2003 - Taste of the Town

Taste of the Town

By Heidi Knapp Rinella

Jacques Van Staden, the chef who opened Neiman Marcus' Mariposa at Fashion Show mall in early December and former chef at the London Club at the Aladdin, has been named executive chef at Alizé atop the Palms.

Van Staden replaces Michael Demers, who before moving to Alizé had been chef de cuisine at Napa at Rio.

What's the Scoop?

"It's a scoop of vanilla," Van staden saide with a hearty laugh. He'd been with Neiman Marcus for a year, and "let's just say I got an opportunity I could not turn down. It's being chef at Alizé and a future venture that is going to be really big."

At Alizé, he said, chef-owner André' Rochat "wants me to fix what's broken, work on presentation and taste and everything. But still keep a lot of André's favorites on the menu."

Like Demers, Van Staden once worked for the late legend Jean-Louis Palladin....

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