Haute Event: Carnival of Cuisine at the Venetian

At the Carnival of Cuisine, First Food & Bar Chef Sammy DeMarco shows off his talents during a live cooking demonstration.

French escargot with beurre blanc, frisee and truffle vinaigrette at Pinot Brasserie. Pork and shrimp sui mai and chicken and vegetable potstickers from Zine Noodles and Dim Sum. Peach cobbler from Postrio and chocolate and peanut butter cake from Cut. These were just some of the samples restaurants at the Venetian and Palazzo served up at the third annual Carnival of Cuisine yesterday. More than 20 restaurants from both properties cooked up samples of their best dishes to 1,750 Grazie members and guests inside the Venetian Ballroom.

If you didn’t get to Bouchon early, you missed macarons, cookies and pastries. The bakery was out of food midway through the event. But you could still munch on Vienna Beef hot dogs with mango salsa and chorizo chili at First Food & Bar or Valentino‘s penne all’matriciana with shrimp and cannollis, both of which had guests forming the longest lines of the day.

Live cooking demonstrations by Venetian and Palazzo chefs peppered the afternoon, while live jazz kept the afternoon humming. Diners could also be found enjoying fun cocktails from Ketel One, Patron and Absolut.

Missed it? You can still see some of the tasty treats here.