Joël Robuchon, hailed as the “Chef of the Century,” may be the name on the door, but the chef doing the cooking day in and day out at the iconic MGM Grand restaurant is a Las Vegan.
Eleazar Villanueva discovered cooking at East Career & Technical Academy, continued his training at the College of Southern Nevada, and worked his way through some of the city’s most demanding kitchens.
Now leading the culinary team at Joël Robuchon, Villanueva was excited to see his restaurant win two Michelin stars — the highest rating in the American Southwest — but is eager to be back in the kitchen to do it all over again.
“The pressure has gone down a little bit, and we’re trying to enjoy the night,” Villanueva told City Cast Las Vegas shortly after the 2026 Southwest Michelin stars were announced during a ceremony at the Fontainebleau. “But tomorrow is back to the grind. We start from ground zero tomorrow, and we keep on pushing.”
Villanueva's father, who worked at Napa in the Rio, warned his son away from the profession because he knew how difficult restaurant life could be. Villanueva chose it anyway.
He became a master cook at Le Cirque at Bellagio in 2011 and joined Joël Robuchon in 2016. He rose through the ranks in the kitchen before becoming executive chef in December 2023.
His first priority was retraining the brigade on Robuchon’s classic stocks, sauces, and dishes. Some take three or four days, and recipes may be tested six to eight times. That precision must hold through 60 to 70 covers nightly, compared with 15 to 20 when the restaurant opened.
Villanueva never imagined working at a Robuchon restaurant, much less running one. Upholding the late chef’s standards leaves him with what he calls big shoes to fill. “I am not French, which is a big deal,” he said. “I have something to prove. This is a never-ending journey.”
He quickly redirected the recognition toward the restaurant’s entire team. “It’s not a one-man award,” he said. “This is a restaurant award.” Sean Christopher, general manager of Restaurant de Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand, also received the 2026 Michelin Guide Southwest Service Award for excellence in hospitality and service.
Despite its famous French name and MGM Grand address, a Las Vegas-raised chef now leads its kitchen with a team Villanueva says is largely from Las Vegas — a bona fide local success story indeed.
