Dominique Ansel first gained international recognition in 2013 with the creation of the Cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid that has spawned countless imitations around the world. Since then, he has continued to impress with his innovative desserts and techniques, earning him multiple James Beard awards and a spot on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In addition to his namesake bakery in New York City, Ansel has expanded globally. His Hong Kong concept, “Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel” features traditional Chinese baked goods such as egg tarts and pine nut cookies. Ansel also recently released his second cookbook, “Everyone Can Bake,” which showcases simple yet impressive recipes for home bakers of all skill levels.
Dominique Ansel is Now Open at Caesars Palace
With no sign of slowing down, Ansel continues to push the boundaries of pastry with his unique creations, dedication to perfection and his newest Dominique Ansel patisserie, which is now open at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The shop is years in the making, and the grand opening saw over 120 people waiting in line by the casino floor as the shop opened Friday morning. “Two years ago, I decided this is a good time,” Ansel told us at a privately hosted grand opening celebration on Friday evening. “So we started building the shop. It took two years and 100 people to work on this project together. Caesars is amazing because they very much believe in the same things I do. Quality, customer service and delivering the best in terms of creativity. So I have full support there from every side. There’s never any compromise when it comes to the choice of ingredients or the things we want to do. It’s good to have partners that believe 100% as you do; our interests are aligned to delivery quality service and quality food to our guests.”
The Las Vegas location is now home to a special collection exclusive to Sin City. “I’m so thrilled to finally bring Dominique Ansel Las Vegas to life and have a home here at Caesars Palace,” Ansel said. “We’ve been so honored and humbled to welcome guests from all around the world. For each of our shops, we strive to make each menu unique, and we hope our ‘Lucky 7’ pastry collection will bring some good fortune to everyone here. I can’t wait to share what we have planned for our future menu creations.” The collection includes a selection of seven stunning confections, including the Lucky Penny Pig, Ladybug, Goldfish, Four-Leaf Clover, Fortune Cookie, Feather and Evil Eye Éclair.
The newest location of Dominique Ansel is the latest culinary addition to the Caesars Entertainment family. “I’ve known the team for many years now; I was always in touch,” Ansel told us. “It was never good timing before to like to make it here because we’re so busy and working on so many projects. I’m very conservative; I don’t want to go too fast with too many things.”
So what’s next for the world-renowned chef? “I take it one step at a time,” he explained. “I don’t want too much too fast. We just opened here; I want to spend some time with the team. I want to get to know locals and our customers here in Las Vegas. I want to see the food scene in Las Vegas to understand it better, and I want to make sure everything we put out here is top quality in terms of the creativity, the product, but also our customer service.”
