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In the summer issue of Desert Companion, readers can enjoy the winners, runners-up, and honorable mentions of our 2023 Focus on Nevada Photo Contest. In addition, we present our first-ever nightlife guide, the best locals spots for dancing, laughing, lounging, and rocking in the country’s most entertaining city.

Born to Cook

Chef Adam Sobel adds the final garnish to a dish
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Adam Sobel

Fresh off his first appearance on Tournament of Champions, Adam Sobel dishes on his next move

To paraphrase Guy Fieri, you don’t know Adam Sobel yet, but you will soon. The Mina Group chef-partner just completed his run in the Fieri-hosted Tournament of Champions, making it to the quarterfinals in his first competitive cooking television show. The native New Yorker and veteran of celebrated Las Vegas restaurants talked with Desert Companion about his past and future in Sin City.

When did you discover your love for cooking? 
With my Italian grandmother, Louise Ferrara, when I was four years old. I’d sleep at her house, wake up early, roll gnocchi, clean artichokes, stuff peppers, make the sauce. I had a natural attraction to the kitchen.

How did you end up in Las Vegas for the first time, working for Bradley Ogden? 
Bradley asked Bryan (his son) and I to do some consulting for a restaurant he was going to open at Caesars Palace. Bryan and I recognized that there was a lot of room to do some amazing stuff in Las Vegas. We knew we could help Bradley create a restaurant that would be a game changer … We won a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America (in 2004).

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Were you excited to come back to Las Vegas? 
Leaving Vegas (in 2011 to be executive chef at Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak in Washington, D.C.) was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. The friendships, the relationships, the professional growth — this is where it all started. And now, we ended up moving the whole (Mina Group) corporate team here.

What can we expect from you guys going forward? 
We have a lot of exciting stuff happening in Las Vegas. Two awesome projects coming up in early 2024. We have some really cool stuff in store on- and off-Strip.

You’re focusing now on cuisine and concept development, but will you be in the kitchen as these projects open? 
When I’m in the restaurant, I’m cooking. That’s what I’m born to do.

Why was now the right time to get into television? 
I saw the first episode of Tournament of Champions and thought it was … a fit for what I do. I’m really competitive. I’m not a household name. The timing for me to be able to commit to it was one thing, and the timing of people recognizing that I could be a great chef competitor, it just lined up that way.

Will we see you doing more of this? 
I want to do TOC for as long as they’ll have me. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s invigorating.

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The Randomizer is a major element of the show. How do you prepare when you don’t necessarily know what or how you have to cook? 
I had a strategy for condiments with big flavors or techniques that are interesting or funky combinations. Then you stand in front of that Randomizer, and that thing starts spinning and you just go blank. I get butterflies just thinking about it.

Will you ever do a restaurant on your own? 
People ask me why I don’t do my own thing. Yeah, I could. But I’m a part of an organization, a team that is really special, and we get to do awesome stuff together. It’s a unique situation. I have the best chef job in the world.