Connoisseur Series at Wynn Offers an Elevated Dining Experience

I recently partook in the provocatively named Wonton Love: A Dumpling Master Class led by master dim sum chef Sandy Shi of Wing Lei in Wynn Las Vegas. In this immersive demonstration, the students prepared a trio of dim sum, including siu mai (Chinese steamed dumplings), har gow (translucent shrimp dumplings), and potstickers.  Or we tried to, anyway.  In the case of the potstickers, where Chef Sandy’s looked like a pristine example from a high-end Chinese cookbook (perfectly fan-shaped and pleated). Everyone had a great time, and laughter could be heard around the room from start to finish.  That said, while none of us would likely go home and cook a dim sum dinner anytime soon, simply learning what goes into the process and what food items are used was very, very cool and has led to a deeper respect for the cuisine.

As global leaders in luxury hospitality, the fine folks at Wynn Las Vegas know that an ever-increasing part of that milieu lies in the experiential. Whether for bragging rights amongst friends or having something to post on Instagram, great experiences are downright covetable by guests; the more exclusive, the better.

With this in mind, and knowing that its chefs, mixologists, pâtissiers, horticulturalists, sommeliers, etc., are the very best in their respective fields, in 2017 the resort launched the Wynn Master Class Series, in which guests could be a part of intimate groups of 10-20 people (comprising a mix of resort guests, a few parents and adult children, visitors staying at other properties, one or two couples, and a few in-the-know locals) for classes and demonstrations led by these experts.  Then, following the success of the Master Class Series—and having expanded its scope to incorporate such memorable opportunities as wine dinners with such elite wineries as Harlan Estate, Opus One Winery, Gaja, and Screaming Eagle Winery & Vineyard, as well as one-off celebrations like the Chef Angie Mar’s Lunar New Year Party—the series was rebranded as the Connoisseur Series by Wynn.  With unique new offerings announced quarterly, these experiences continue to delight participants, often selling out weeks in advance. 

The array of classes and demonstrations ranges from learning about Wynn’s K-9 Unit (and getting to interact with some of the resort’s highly trained canine officers) and discussing puppetry design with award-winning puppet master Michael Curry (producer, Awakening and creator of the animatronic figures at Wynn’s Lake of Dreams) to floral arranging and making everything from pizza to cookies.  There are classes about winetasting and sushi rolling and even choosing the right Champagne.  Interested in knowing whether that fine foliage over yonder is a fig or a Ficus? (Trick question: a fig is a Ficus.)   Sign-up to tour the property with resort horticulturalist Freddy Cordon the perfect occasion to dazzle fellow classmates by off-handedly recalling Dorothy Parker’s famously bawdy pun about gardening. (Look it up: this is a family site.)

Over the holidays, I attended the Holiday Cocktail Entertaining demonstration led by Wynn’s master mixologist, Mariena Mercer Boarini, in Sinatra.  There, Boarini showed us how to prepare a trio of holiday-themed cocktails: the Poinsettia Punch Sangria (“a bright and colorful take on the classic fruit punch has sophisticated notes of blood orange, black fig, and maple spice”), the Naughty or Spice Hot Toddy (“a spiced version of a Hot Toddy with Bulleit Rye, St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur, lemon, and gingersnap tea-spiked honey”), and the Holly Jolly Espresso Martini (a festive martini with a jolt, featuring Absolut Vanilla Vodka, La Colombe Espresso, Kahlúa Blonde Roast and Madagascar vanilla liqueurs, and peppermint Schnapps”).  As each was deftly demonstrated and explained by Boarini, Sinatra’s servers presented us with a glass, accompanied by tasty bites (think: cookies, breadsticks wrapped in prosciutto di Parma, and other nibbly victuals).  They were each fantastic, with the Poinsettia Punch Sangria being hands-down the most delicious wine-based drink I’ve ever tasted.

There with Boarini helming your cocktail experience, you are friends gathered in her kitchen—not simply clients of a hotel. The same is true whether you’re in Shi’s kitchen, wandering the lush grounds with Cordon, or in any other of the intimate settings of the Connoisseur Series. Which is, of course, the very essence of hospitality itself.