Mesa Grill Caesars Palace
3750 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
(702)731-7110 www.caesarspalace.com
Paul Del Favero is an award-winning chef with a dynamic record of excellence and more than 20 years of experience in all facets of cooking and restaurant management.
As Chef de Cuisine for Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Del Favero is
responsible for daily supervision of the kitchen, ensuring flawless execution of Bobby
Flay’s bold American flavors in a high-energy environment. A veteran of Flay’s New York culinary team, Del Favero collaborated with the famed chef/TV personality to launch Flay’s first dining establishment outside New York City. Within a year of its September 2004 opening, Mesa Grill Caesars Palace was named in Bon Appetit
Magazine among the 50 hottest restaurants in the country, and in Gourmet magazine among the top restaurants in the nation’s Top 5 restaurant cities.
Born in Larchmont, New York, Paul inherited his passion for food from his mother who encouraged him to attend Peter Kump’s School of Culinary Arts in Manhattan. He began his professional training in 1981 at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. While earning the Grand Diplôme d’Etudes Culinaires, the ambitious young chef apprenticed at several Parisian restaurants, including La Tour D’Argent, Chiberta and Le Toit de Passy. Upon completion of his formal training, he became personal chef to Saudi billionaire Adnan Khashoggi’s daughter, Nabila.
With extensive European training and a culinary degree, Paul returned to New York and began working with Antoine Bouterin of Le Perigord. In 1986 Paul joined forces with acclaimed restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at the renowned Jams and shortly after followed Waxman to Hulots Restaurant as sous-chef. Del Favero then moved to London as chef and managing director of British entrepreneur Sir Terence Conran’s Blue Print Café and Museum Café.
Back in New York, Paul headed to the Hamptons where he is credited with putting the East End’s famous Nick and Toni’s on the culinary “map.” During his six year tenure, he received three stars from Food & Wine Magazine (1993) and the restaurant became the first East End restaurant to be reviewed by Ruth Reichl’s regional edition of The New York Times receiving two stars in 1994. Paul also won a Golden Dish award from GQ’s (1994) Alan Richman for his roasted whole striped bass cooked in a wood-burning oven.
After several years, he left to open Henry’s in Bridgehampton and received a rating of excellence in 1999 from the Long Island New York Times. In the summer of 2001, Paul assumed the position of Executive Chef at The Maidstone Arms, an historic inn and restaurant located on Main Street in East Hampton.
In 2004, Del Favero landed in Las Vegas to pursue a new Caesars Palace project with highly praised restaurateur, cookbook author and television personality chef Bobby Flay, launching a Las Vegas outpost to the highly acclaimed Mesa Grill NY. Acting as Chef de Cuisine for this exciting venture, Paul’s responsibility is to ensure flawless execution of the stunning range of flavors, textures and colors of Flay’s upscale Southwest-inspired cuisine.
