RISTORANTE GIORGIO E CAFFE
Featuring
Executive Chef Niko Chessa

Giorgio has just the dining experience you are looking for – from casual to elegant – serving up some of Las Vegas’ finest contemporary Italian food. Have a little something sweet from our gelato bar, sit at the imported Italian crystal bar and have a cocktail and an appetizer. Enjoy a pizza or the antipasto sampler while enjoying the 4 plasma screen televisions. We also have more secluded dining areas for conversations over lunch or dinner and a good glass of wine (and with approximately 200 wines by the bottle and 20 by the glass, you’re sure to find a favorite).

Nicola ( Nico) Chessa was born in 1966 on the Mediterranean Island of Sardinia. From the very start, his life was filled with a passion for food. He studied and mastered the foods of his native land while serving as an apprentice at the Ginepro Ristorante, located on the exclusive Costa Smeralda of Sardinia. During his life in Sardinia, he began to travel each season to various northern and southern Italian regions. His travel provided an opportunity to learn all of the basic techniques and ingredients unique to each region. In addition, Chessa received personal guidance from many highly regarded professional chefs specific to each region. In effect, these experiences have allowed him to master the diversities of his culinary skill.In 1992, Chessa moved to Rome to work at the prestigious Petrollini Banchetti. During this time, he had the opportunity to present his talent for Italy’s jet set and other infamous clientele including Pope John Paul II during many events held in Vatican City. At the reopening gala of the Sistine chapel in 1996, he was selected to serve as executive chef representing Europe.In 1998, Chessa set his sights on North America. He presented his culinary art as chef at Arcodoro in Houston, Texas, recognized by restaurant critic John Mariani as the finest Sardinian restaurant in the United States. Eventually, he relocated to Washington, D.C. and served as executive chef at Café Milano.

http://www.pieroselvaggio.com/caffegiorgio/

VALENTINO RISTORANTE
Featuring
Executive Chef Luciano Pellegrini

VALENTINO Las Vegas has raised the bar for fine dining in Las Vegas. Sister restaurant to the world-renowned Valentino in Santa Monica, Piero Selvaggio's latest masterpiece has acquired such accolades as "Best Italian Restaurant in Las Vegas," Epicurean Award Winner and the "Grand Award" from Wine Spectator. VALENTINO Las Vegas shines against the grand milieu of The Venetian Resort • Hotel • Casino, bringing a taste of Italy to the desert. Acclaimed Executive Chef Luciano Pellegrini, winner for best chef in the Southwest by the James Beard foundation, designs an exquisite seasonal menu including enticing pasta dishes and lavish main courses. Choose from over 2,200 wines and let the chef recommend a specialty tasting menu featuring creative Italian cooking or more traditional food-of-the-regions. VALENTINO Las Vegas is the place for an unforgettable food and wine experience.

Bergamo, Italy is the birthplace of one of America’s most established chefs, Luciano Pellegrini. Unaware of his future success, Pellegrini began his culinary experience in his mother’s kitchen. When he was 13, he was enrolled at one of Italy’s most prestigious hotel schools, San Pellegrino. He spent his teenage years attending school and gaining experience at various restaurants. Once graduated, Pellegrini was exposed to dining at its finest when working at “Locanda dell’Angelo, a one-star Michelin rated restaurant in Michelin, Italy.
In 1999, Pellegrini was given the chance to input his creativity when Valentino Las Vegas was opened. His dedication has turned Valentino into one of the leading Italian restaurants in Nevada. Backed by his culinary expertise, Valentino Las Vegas has received numerous awards including a 2001, 2003 and a 2004 Las Vegas Life Epicurean Award for Best Italian Restaurant. Also, Pellegrini received Grand Award from Wine Spectator.
Pellegrini is also a partner at Caffe Giorgio, located at Mandalay Place in Las Vegas. The menu, partly created by Pellegrini, reflects the chef’s versatility as the casual dining spot features such fares as gelato, pizza, and tasty appetizers.
During 2003 and 2004, Pellegrini was the only chef in Las Vegas who was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as Best Chef in the Southwest. This category includes chefs who have set new or consistent standards of excellence in their respective regions.

http://www.pieroselvaggio.com/valentino_lasvegas/default.asp

SOUTHERN WINE AND SPIRITS

Since its founding in 1968, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern), is a nationally recognized wine and spirits distributor known for its historic commitment to delivering the highest standards of customer service and creative marketing programs and partnerships.  The Company is also known for its best-in-industry professional and well-trained sales, operational and support staff, its ongoing investments in and contributions to hospitality and beverage education for its staff, its customers and to many national educational institutions. In addition, Southern is justly respected for its deeply held belief in the importance of giving back, for being a socially responsible corporate citizen and for making generous contributions to national, state and local charitable organizations.

Today, Southern operates in 28 states, including its original Florida market, where its corporate headquarters is located in Miami. Over the past 38 years, pursuing a determined strategy to expand through internal growth as well as through the acquisition of established wholesalers, Southern Wine and Spirits of America expanded its Florida operations into California in 1969, Nevada in 1976, Arizona in 1992, South Carolina in 1993, Pennsylvania in 1995, Hawaii in 1996, Kentucky in 1998, New Mexico in 2000, Colorado in 2001, Illinois in 2002, New York in 2004, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia in 2005. In 2006, the Company began operations in Alabama; and, in a partnership arrangement, now operates in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming as well. In 2007, the Company entered Ohio, the country's third largest Control jurisdiction.

As the country’s largest wine and spirits distributor, Southern is nationally recognized by its supplier partners as well as by its customers for its state-of-the-art distribution capabilities as well as its leading-edge information technology. And as the leader in the wine and spirits distribution business in the United States, Southern’s executives and all its team members are committed to performing their responsibilities by adhering to the highest professional and ethical standards in all their corporate, civic and charitable activities.

http://www.southernwine.com/OfficesNationwide/Nevada/NVHome/tabid/161/Default.aspx

ILLY COFFEE

Founded in Trieste, Italy in 1933, illycaffè SpA group is a privately-held, third-generation family-owned premium coffee company. The group controls 10 companies worldwide, dedicated to international distribution.  It employs over 600 people, 400 of whom are located at the Trieste headquarters.
A unique blend of quality espresso coffee enjoyed by consumers who appreciate a meaningful experience of beauty, pleasure, consistency and fulfillment.

A single perfect blend of coffee, handpicked from nine different growing regions around the world, and available as:
  • medium or dark roasts
  • regular or decaffeinated
  • whole bean, fine grind and medium grind, as well as E.S.E. (Easy Serving Espresso) pods, an innovation that illy brought to the market, allowing consumers more control in consistently making the best espresso possible, as well as ground coffee preparation use.

A leader in innovation, technology and quality, with uncompromising and unique approaches taken from bean to cup.

An unfaltering passion for the arts with its own artist expressions of signed, numbered and limited edition cup collections designed by renowned artists.

A company with a passion for its relationships with coffee growers to source the finest beans and give back to coffee-growing communities on the economic, social and environmental levels, ensuring high quality and sustainability in regions from Brazil to Ethiopia, everywhere illy coffee is grown.

http://www.illyusa.com/index.cfm