LAS VEGAS
S I LV E R L I N I N G S & D O U G H STAR T E R S Chef/Owner James Trees from Esther’s Kitchen
Having started at The Mirage in Las Vegas before many kids get a driver's license, Chef/Owner James Trees, a 2020 James Beard Award nominee (Best Chef Southwest), has worked with some of the most famous chefs the world over. Trees' choice to return home to be close to family and open his first venue in Las Vegas (Esther’s Kitchen), and hiring some of his oldest friends (and their offspring) as “his crew,” is indicative of why he is notorious for being, “one great human being.”
It's a pleasure to get to be in restaurants and hang out with other chefs because I really do think chefs and cooks are the most interesting people in the world. A 2020 James Beard Finalist Without A Suit “We were going to go the James Beard Awards in NYC (results out September 25, 2020,) which I was really looking forward to because I was going to get a suit. The good news is at least I didn’t buy a suit... It's a ‘win-win’ so far (sarcastic laugh). I work hard my whole life, the year I finally get some recognition and the f-ing world shuts down. This is the dark comedy that is my life.”
The Sense That Everything Matters “I was a young chef at Bradley Ogden’s in L.V. when they won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant back in 2004 (the first James Beard Award in Las Vegas history). It was amazing just being surrounded by so much talent. We had the sense that everything we did mattered. And I would say that’s the one thing that reaches across the arc of my career. I feel like everything we do at Esther’s Kitchen matters. The difference is that Esther’s is completely underfunded, we don't have a bunch of 22-year-old savants who’ve been working at the best restaurants in the world at our disposal. I'm basically getting kids who want to cook and learn the basics and then we're building this really good foundation for them.”
Not The Favorite Kid / The Miseducation Of Celebrity Chefs “I've had great respect for chefs I’ve worked with (Bradley Ogden, Gordon Ramsey, Heston Blumenthal, etc.), and I've seen what greatness can look like. But, I really have to say that, I was never the favorite kid in the kitchen. You know… ‘that guy.’ I was never the ‘special one.’ I've seen it, and I've seen what that does to people. I'll be honest, most often, it breeds laziness, un-thoughtfulness, and uncaring language. I have mentors that I love to death. That I happily burned my arms with duck fat for and ended up in the hospital. And for the most part, I want to be the person who is the evolved version of that.”
COVID Conundrum “I was supposed to cook for Willie Nelson, at The Austin Rock Festival, back in March. I heard things were starting to close down due to COVID, but I was like, ‘No one's gonna close Vegas.’ So I flew to Austin. And as soon as I got there, the festival was canceled. So that became my opportunity to enjoy Austin. Then they closed all the bars and restaurants in Austin, that same day. I'm like, ‘This just makes sense that this would be my vacation.’ I flew back to Vegas literally the same day. The next morning we were told they were going to shut down all Vegas restaurants. I had to layoff my entire staff, minus my managing chefs and
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