Throughout the past 25 years, chef and humanitarian José Andrés and his partners have been growing the José Andrés Group, which now includes nearly 40 concepts in Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Washington, D.C., The Bahamas, and Dubai.
In Vegas, his restaurants are as diverse as they come, but one common theme among them is a detailed focus on the dessert menu. Take, for instance, the Giggling Buddha at China Poblano in The Cosmopolitan. The offering includes strawberry gelatina, lychee, seasonal berries, lychee air, strawberries, and cream ice cream. The strawberry gelatina is in the shape of buddha, with the feet molded from one of Andrés’ daughter’s dolls. At Jaleo, also at The Cosmopolitan, the top-selling dessert is the Andrés’ mom’s flan recipe – or the flan al estilo tradicional de mama Marisa con espuma de crema catalana – a classic Spanish custard with ‘espuma’ of Catalan cream.
