Chef Doug Taylor: Fast food out, farms are where it’s at
After growing up in the islands, Doug Taylor went to culinary school at the University of Hawaii to become a pastry chef. Jobs in Lake Tahoe and the Bay Area followed; he came to Las Vegas in 2006 to work at Michael Mina’s Seablue at MGM Grand. Hired by the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group as executive pastry chef in 2007, he remained there for six years, working for Batali’s B&B Ristorante, Otto Enoteca and Carnevino, all at The Venetian/Palazzo. During that time, Taylor’s interest in the locavore movement prompted him to seek out local farms, initially to work with the restaurants. Taylor headed the Farmer to Chef program for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and helped found Bet on the Farm, a nonprofit farmers market. “To this day, some of my closest friends and biggest supporters are the farmers I have met here in Vegas,” he said. After a two-year absence from Las Vegas, he returned and took over Art of Flavors Gelato & Sweets at 1616 Las Vegas Blvd. South on Jan. 1, 2016. Review-Journal: Always in your fridge? Chef Doug Taylor: Mustard, vegetables and hot sauce. R-J: Currently obsessed with? Taylor: The current season — flower blossoms, green fruit, what’s happening at the farms. R-J: Newest Las Vegas discovery? Taylor: On Monday nights we cycle with Smash Bros LV, a bicycle club. We ride around the city and it’s a lot of fun. We did it (March 13) and there were probably 50 people. R-J: Favorite indulgence? Taylor: Hanging out with my kids, Harrison, 4, and Harley, 2. R-J: I never eat … Taylor: Fast food. R-J: Favorite brunch at home? Taylor: Probably a sourdough toast with over-easy egg and avocado. Maybe a little pancetta on there, too. R-J: Best tip for home cooks? Taylor: Embrace your mistakes. R-J: What are you working on? Taylor: My new menu, our new flavors. I just put out a savory seaweed sorbet, also just made a cookies and cream and turmeric and ginger; they’re both local.
R-J: Why did you want to get into gelato?
Taylor: I’d been a pastry chef for about 20 years. It’s a channel in which I can push my ideas and my imagination to go wherever I want to go in every season. It’s also a food you have when you need to be comforted or are celebrating, either on the couch or at a party. I always try to focus on what’s happening locally at the farms in Las Vegas and the farms around Las Vegas for my inspiration and seasonal menus. I take a lot of pride in that we’re a farm-to-cone gelato shop, having a really close relationship with every one of my producers. That storyline is so important to me. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal. com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal. com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.