In Step with Chef Nicole Brisson

Photo byResorts World International

Chef Nicole Brisson is the Executive Chef and partner of Brezza & Bar Zazu, located in The District at Resorts World Las Vegas. The Chef offers her signature authentic yet modern coastal Italian and globally inspired cuisine.

Nicole’s accomplishments at Brezza & Bar Zazu show her dedication to immaculate quality standards and leadership skills.

Nicole has assembled a team of skilled and renowned professionals from the food and beverage industry to work alongside her in her award-winning restaurants.

BrezzaPhoto byResorts World International

Being a chef is a not just a job, it’s a lifestyle. A good chef thinks about work and food 24/7. I think this career chooses you, you don’t choose it.” - Chef Nicole Brisson

Chef Brisson grew up in a culinary-orientated family. Her grandfather owned a restaurant in Saratoga, NY, where Nicole’s Mother grew up working. Not surprisingly, meals in Nicole’s household were prepared from scratch.

Nicole watched her Mom utilize all of the produce from their garden and the neighboring farms at the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The summer canning process ensured the family would get through the upstate New York winters.

BrezzaPhoto byResorts World International

Nicole began her career in a local farm-to-table restaurant at 15 years old. She embraced a future in the Culinary Arts.

At age 21, Brisson finished a culinary degree at the Schoharie Vocational School at Johnson & Wales University.

BrezzaPhoto byResorts World International

Nicole moved to Italy to study and cook with Fabio Picchi at Cibrèo in Florence and Chef Dario Cecchini’s famed butchery.

Working at Antica Macelleria Cecchini, located in the Chianti region of Tuscany, ignited her love of Italian cooking. Nicole lived the art of fine butchering. She honed her skills in the aging process and curing techniques.

In 2005, Nicole moved to Las Vegas and the Wynn. She continued to hone her skills in the resorts’ top-rated Italian restaurants, working with Stephen Kalt at Corsa Cucina and Paul Bartolotta’s beloved Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare.

BrezzaPhoto byResorts World International

Enter Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group. Nicole took up the Chef di Cucina position at The Venetian’s Enoteca San Marco, where she worked throughout their portfolio of concepts. She led the menu’s design, service style, dining room decor, and style of food that reflected the Chef’s personal experiences and interests.

Nicole progressed to the Culinary Director role at B&B, overseeing Las Vegas operations and responsibility for B&B Burgers & Beer, B&B Ristorante, CarneVino, and OTTO Enoteca. She also manages a large-scale dry-aging facility that yields 10,000 pounds of beef. B&B ages beef longer than any restaurant in town and among the most extended times in the country.

In 2018, Chef Brisson was Eataly’s first female Chef and the first Chef appointed to the Southern Nevada Health District’s Board of Directors.

Eataly is the largest Italian marketplace with restaurants worldwide, more than a dozen authentic Italian eateries, and hundreds of high-quality products. Eataly Las Vegas at Park MGM offers visitors the opportunity to eat, shop, and learn their way through one of the most sumptuous cuisines in the world under a single roof.

A desire to explore a career off-strip led Brisson to open Locale Italian Kitchen in southwest Las Vegas as Executive Chef and partner.

The Locale Italian Kitchen venture impacted the local restaurant community. Nicole’s reputation soared as one of the most beloved culinary leaders in Las Vegas.

The kitchen features cuisine in la cucina povera and elevated American-Italian styles. Cucina Povera honors the no-waste “poor cooking” tradition from rural Italy.

BrezzaPhoto byResorts World International

Small domestic farms provide fresh ingredients, with some items coming from purveyors in Italy. Over hundreds of years, peasants, who made the most of the simple ingredients available, invented ingenious dishes out of necessity.

Cucina Povera, peasant cooking, uses ingredients found in the kitchen, household, and farm to prepare meals. The concept of cucina povera exists in every society. It is about cooking with simple ingredients and includes using every part of the animal.

Family-prepared dishes include rabbit, risi e bisi, pea soup, pizza, bread, minestra, salumi, pasta frittata, tomato salad, and pasta with olive oil, garlic, and parsley.

My family in the United States and Italy have made and continue to make meals in cucina povera. They prepare meals, finding ingredients in the kitchen pantry and what isn’t too expensive at the market. In Italy, the kitchens of people experiencing poverty emerged from post-war conditions and the generally depressed state of southern Italian life. - Chef Nicole Brisson

Chef Brisson provided culinary consulting services to the exclusive resort El Dorado Golf & Beach Club in San José del Cabo. Nicole contributed to the success of several Vegas restaurants and SBE’s Los Angeles Test Kitchen.

She developed multiple concepts for Dario Cecchini’s eponymous flagship store, known for its premium cuts, red wine & festive atmosphere, ahead of their arrival in the States.

Brisson is dedicated to her craft and committed to keeping it simple. She sources seasonal, sustainable ingredients. Chef Brisson is a respected member of the Three Square Food Bank’s Culinary Council and an Executive Board member at Slow Food USA.

Nicole’s mentors played an essential role in her development, and today, she places great importance on her role as a mentor to those coming through the culinary ranks.

Industry recognition is nothing new for Nicole.

Here is a summary of her awards.

• Eater’s Restaurant of the Year
• Silver State Awards Best Chef
• Food & Wine’s Best Steak in the US
• Desert Companion’s Best Chef award recipient
• National Restaurant Association’s Best New Restaurant
• VEGAS INC.’s 40 under 40
• Wine Spectator’s coveted Award of Excellence
• 2020 James Beard Best Chef: Semifinalist
• Appearances on TV shows including Chopped, Late Night Chef Fight, Action Bronson’s MUNCHIES, and Beat Bobby Flay.

About Brezza brezzaitalian.com

Brezza is a modern Italian restaurant featuring handmade pasta, fresh seafood, and more by Chef Nicole Brisson.

The refined restaurant offers classic Italian plates, dry-aged steaks, a bar, and alfresco dining. It has outdoor seating and serves vegetarian dishes. The elegant, comfortable dining area features stone walls and wood accents. Brezza sits near one end of the district’s wide-open promenade.

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Douglas Pilarski is an award-winning writer & journalist based on the West Coast. He writes about luxury goods, exotic cars, horology, tech, food, lifestyle, equestrian and rodeo, magazine features, and millionaire travel.

Your thoughts are welcome at dp1@sawyertms.com.

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