Size

THE largest kitchen brigade in the UK is believed to be at the Savoy, London, where 100 chefs work split between two kitchens. But that's small fry compared with Bellagio, a new 3,000-bedroom hotel in Las Vegas. Although not the world's largest hotel - there are six other hotels in Las Vegas alone with more than 3,000 bedrooms - it is believed to operate the most extensive and busiest food and beverage operation on the globe.

Bellagio's brigade comprises 860 chefs split between 14 restaurants, extensive banqueting facilities and a room service operation that produces 2,000 meals per day. Together they serve between 16,000 and 23,000 covers daily. Since the hotel opened five months ago, business has already exceeded budgets by 30%, with the annual food and beverage revenue expected to reach $250m (£156m).

Overall responsibility for ensuring the food meets the standards expected of the world's most expensive hotel opening, which cost $2b (£1.25b), falls on Bellagio's British-born executive chef Grant MacPherson.

"I cannot possibly hope to keep an eye on everything," says MacPherson, 36, who has worked across four different continents. "Although I visit every restaurant daily, each has its own expertise with an executive chef responsible for maintaining quality control and cost factors for that outlet. Primarily, it is my job to pinpoint where the problems are and jump in to help smooth out any difficulties."

The bulk of MacPherson's time is spent on the largest and busiest operations, such as banqueting, where about 3,500 covers are catered for daily. The hotel's largest restaurant - the 450-seat Café Bellagio - is open 24 hours a day and occupies a considerable amount of MacPherson's time too, as does the Buffet at Bellagio, which incorporates live-action stations serving Italian, Japanese, Chinese, American and seafood to around 5,000 covers daily. "I do occasionally get behind the stove," he says, "but not as often as I would like."

MacPherson's extensive experience of a variety of kitchens worldwide, serving food influenced by a host of different cultures, made him the ideal candidate to be Bellagio's number-one chef. He was attracted by the challenge of being involved in the opening of what owner Stephen Wynn of Mirage Resorts intends to be the most spectacular hotel in the world.

Wynn is responsible for some of Las Vegas's most flamboyant properties, such as the Mirage, with its South Seas tropical theme, and the Caribbean-style Treasure Island, but Bellagio has a more traditional European feel that he hopes will appeal to a discerning audience that usually overlooks Las Vegas as a holiday destination.

The hotel has been able to lure some of the most prestigious stars of the US culinary firmament, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who made his name in New York with his restaurants Jojo and Vong. At Bellagio, he has opened a sophisticated 152-seat steakhouse called Prime where top-quality meats and seafood are served.

Simple but well-executed dishes form the basis of the starters, such as tuna tartar, grilled shrimp cocktail, and warm asparagus with truffle dressing. For entrées, there is a choice of eight grilled and roasted meats, such as herb-crusted rack of lamb, six peppercorn aged New York steak, or caramel-roasted pork tenderloin. These are served with a choice of seven mustards (for example, violet, horseradish and whole grain) or six sauces (such as béarnaise, shallot, garlic and tamarind). Fish - red snapper, tuna steak, Dover sole, Maine lobster or slow-baked Alaskan salmon - is served in a similar fashion with a choice of five sauces.

Another import from New York is Sirio Maccioni, who has recreated two of the Big Apple's most successful restaurants - Le Cirque and Osteria del Circo. The 80-seat Le Cirque offers classical French and Italian cuisine with the likes of roasted wild salmon wrapped in prosciutto and sage, potatoes boulangäre, confit garlic and parsley coulis, and Colorado lamb fillet and braised shank with confit vegetables, tomatoes and baked cranberries. The menu at the 175-seat Osteria del Circo is inspired by rustic Tuscan cooking. Dishes include tagliatelle with a Chianti-braised duck sauce, wild mushrooms and Parmigiano cheese; and salt cod in a spicy tomato sauce with potatoes and Swiss chard.

Every corner of the culinary globe is represented at Bellagio, from the Mediterranean menus at Picasso and Olives, the seafood offerings at Aqua, Sam's American restaurant and the Petrorussian bar serving an eclectic collection of dishes from afternoon tea to caviar, to a selection of eateries representing the various cuisines of the Far East. And the La Brea Bakery provides fresh bread all day and night for all of Bellagio's restaurants.

MacPherson enjoys a good standard of life in Las Vegas, living in a townhouse - supplied with the job - that overlooks the mountains west of the city. When he does get some free time he likes to play billiards, enjoy a few concerts and take long drives in his convertible. "The only downfalls to this city are the lack of culture and the transitory population," he says.

Would he ever return to a job in the UK after all his years away? "Yes, maybe after my three-year career at Bellagio I would like to get back to my roots," he says. "I have enjoyed working abroad immensely, particularly the opportunity to meet many people and be immersed in so many different cultures. As chefs, we should always strive to open ourselves to new things." n