10 guilty pleasures to enjoy in Las Vegas!

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, Dec, 2004 by Jorge Ferraez

10. Have a Tuscan Feast at Osteria del Circo.

A very high profile Tuscan restaurant. Marvelous service, award wining wine list that displays perhaps the largest collection of Barolo wines in the US. Have a fruity and earthy Mauro Beglio Barolo "Vigneto Rocche" 1998 ($150) and enjoy a nice variety of classical and post-modern, high end Tuscan dishes: Crema di Carde Bianche (Parsnip), a delicious and delicate pureed soup, a Wonderful perfumed Cacciucco del Circo (Seafood Stew) with gigantic prawns and octopus legs, and for a brilliant finale try a Bamboloni Calde con Le Sue Salse (an exquisite warm Italian doughnut with chocolate and berry sauces). The place has the personal and classical touch of the Maccione family (Le Cirque in NY, Vegas and Mexico City), which assures a tremendous culinary experience.

... And behind all the magic are:

Irene Bustamante Director Diversity Relations

It's always motivating to find someone who is happy at his or her job. Irene is pretty much a success story herself within the MGM/Mirage Company. From a very traditional family she managed to convince her father to allow her to go to college, get a degree in Hospitality Business Managing and go to Las Vegas to accept a position. "I feel really lucky, I'm doing what I enjoy most and I'm getting paid for it" says the Diversity manager of a company that has 42,000 employees. "I have been given an opportunity to serve and enhance others like me to become successful in their jobs and to be able to lead. We need so many role models in the Latino community that is one of my goals, contribute to create them". Irene, who has been with MGM/Mirage for 12 years now, still finds fascinating working for the hospitality industry and especially in Las Vegas, where you have to be fan of serving other people.

Carlos Salazar Executive Pastry Chef MGM Grand

When he left his native Colombia he was only 18. Although he pursued a business career, the opportunity came to work in the baking business, which he and his family had long experience in Colombia. After spending many years as a baker, he managed to become the Executive Pastry Chef for the MGM/Grand Hotel. And he's good. Among his duties he has 12 kitchens to oversee, manage the biggest pastry shop in Vegas, cook the pastry, dessert and bread requirements for groups as large as 16,000 people and even get the new projects and ideas for the 5,000 room hotel. "I work hard, at least 10 to 12 hours a day, but is my passion. It's tricky when you have to hake a cake for 2000 people and it has to have the same quality of a small, 8 people cake". But he relies on his staff, most of it Latino. "I subdivide the tasks among my workers, and ask them to focus on that thing that they do best and it's in their area. That way, the process of making a great dessert sometimes involves three or four different teams to contribute to it: those responsible for the cream, those for the cake, those for the fillings, etc. I like to have a fellowship in the kitchen, an environment that is very Latino, where everybody is supporting one another. Then, I just make my rounds and offer my help to everybody." Carlos the highest ranking Pastry Chef of a Latino descent in Las Vegas.