Alessandro Stratta

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Alessandro Stratta

Born October 29, 1964 (1964-10-29) (age 43)
Marquette, Wisconsin
Cooking style French, Mediterranean, and Italian
Education California Culinary Academy
Rating(s)
Current Restaurant(s)

Alessandro Stratta (born October 29, 1964 in Marquette, Wisconsin) is a celebrity chef and restauranteur of mixed Italian and French heritage. Stratta played the role of Iron Chef Italian on the television show Iron Chef USA. He was recipient of the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef Southwest in 1998[1] and currently is executive chef of his namesake restaurant Alex at the Wynn Las Vegas resort and country club in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Stratta is a fourth-generation hotelier born to parents from locales well-known for their culinary traditions; his Italian father is from the Piedmont region, and his French mother from Nice along the Côte d'Azur.[2] As his father was president of Princess Hotels & Resorts, he spent much of his early life living in luxurious resorts in countries all over the world, including Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, France, Mexico, and Pakistan;[3][4] this upbringing helped him become fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and English.[5] Stratta attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, California and graduated with honors in 1983.[4][5]

[edit] Culinary development

Stratta began his career as a patissier-in-training at the Stanford Court Hotel. He then accepted an internship at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco; soon after, Alain Ducasse invited Stratta to join the team at his Louis XV restaurant there. After two years, Stratta returned to the United States, and at Ducasse's recommendation began working for Daniel Boulud at Le Cirque in New York City.[5] Both Ducasse and Boulud acted as mentors who heavily influenced Stratta's development as both a chef and restauranteur; Stratta credits Ducasse with showing him "how to make basic, simple food taste phenomenal", and Boulud for his creative influences as well as business skills.[6]

[edit] As executive chef

In 1989, Stratta took on the executive chef position at Mary Elaine's restaurant at The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. While there, he was featured in Food & Wine Magazine as one of "America's Ten Best New Chefs".[7] Under his tenure, the restaurant earned a 4-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide[5] and also received critical acclaim as the best restaurant in the Phoenix area.[8]

In 1998, Stratta became executive chef of the Renoir restaurant at The Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada after being invited by Steve Wynn, who at the time was still Chairman and CEO of Mirage Resorts.[5] The restaurant earned Mobil Travel Guide's highest rating of 5 stars just six months after opening.[6]

In 2005, Stratta opened his namesake restaurant Alex - once again at the invitation of Steve Wynn, but this time for the grand opening of Wynn's namesake casino resort and country club, Wynn Las Vegas. Stratta's restaurant was billed as a "triumph" and has been extremely well-reviewed;[9] it received ratings of 5 stars from the Mobil Travel Guide,[10] 5 diamonds from the AAA Restaurant Ratings,[11] and 2 stars from the Michelin Guide.[12]

[edit] Television

In 2001, Stratta was chosen as Iron Chef Italian on the now-defunct television show Iron Chef USA, where he was nicknamed the "Italian Scallion". Although he describes himself as "not that competitive", Stratta decided to appear on the show because he is a fan of the original Iron Chef show from Japan.[6] In his only battle appearance on the show, he defeated chef Marcus Samuelsson.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Restaurants

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Mancini, Al. "Down to Earth: Alex Stratta takes everything seriously except himself", 944 Life. Retrieved on 2007-11-12. 
  2. ^ Jacobson, Max. "The hottest restaurant in town makes a great impression", Las Vegas Life, 2000-09. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  3. ^ St. Valentine's Dinner. James Beard Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  4. ^ a b Margles, Catherine. "King of Culinary ARTS", Press Release, Creative Cooking School of Las Vegas. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  5. ^ a b c d e Alessandro Strata Biography. StarChefs. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  6. ^ a b c Doss, Lori. "Alessandro Stratta shows mettle with Iron Chef appearance", Nation's Restaurant News, 2002-01-07. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  7. ^ a b Best New Chefs - 1994 - Alessandro Stratta. Food & Wine Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  8. ^ Apple, Jr., R.W.. "ON THE ROAD; Phoenix: A Place In the Sun", New York Times, 1999-02-19. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  9. ^ Apple, Jr., R.W.. "On High-Stakes Tables in Las Vegas: Fish, Not Chips", New York Times, 2005-10-26. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  10. ^ Mobil Travel Guide: 2007 Five-Star Hotel and Restaurant Award Winners. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  11. ^ Robinson, Jennifer; Heidi Knapp Rinella. "A LITTLE MORE SHINE: LV scores nine winners of AAA's Five Diamond Awards", Las Vegas Review-Journal. 
  12. ^ Michelin Guide: 2008 Las Vegas Restaurant Award Winners. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.