Often, a restaurant’s kitchen leaders are also its unsung heroes, toiling behind the scenes to provide a pleasurable dining experience for the eatery’s patrons. In this series, we shine a spotlight on talented, creative, and unique individuals who have become, or are becoming, the culinary superheroes of our city, and explore the paths they have taken to establish themselves as rising or recognized gastronomic stars.
In this chapter, we introduce you to local cooking legend Luke Palladino.
Luke Palladino has spent much of his life on the road, cooking in various locales to gain experience and refine his culinary skills. Fortunately for us, he has landed in Las Vegas, where he will hopefully continue to share his expertise and talents with us for many years to come.
First Culinary Lessons
Luke Palladino was born in Bethpage, on Long Island, New York, in 1969. Growing up in a large family of Italian immigrants, his initial culinary education was seeing how food brings people together. He remembers family gatherings on Sundays and holidays that revolved around dinner with more than 20 people that began at 1 p.m. and continued late into the evening.
In 1974, Luke and most of his family moved to Florida. His single mom could only afford to give him a weekly allowance of 25 cents, so he was motivated to work to earn spending money. At the young age of 13, Luke lied about his age and got his first job, like many future chefs, doing grunt work as a dishwasher. It was at Strawberry Mansion, an upscale restaurant in Melbourne Beach, Florida, set in a historic Victorian home built in 1905.
As time went on, when cooks called in sick or quit or didn’t show up, Luke was called on to help in the kitchen, doing prep work, and eventually moved into permanent positions doing butcher work and cooking on weekends.
Chef Training at the CIA
Strawberry Mansion executive chef Pete Wynkoop saw Luke’s work ethic and hunger for learning and liked what he saw. Chef Wynkoop was himself a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and was an influence and inspiration for Luke to attend the storied institution as well. After visiting the Hyde Park CIA in his senior year, he took out loans and, describing his time in the prestigious culinary school, says, “It was a wonderland. I loved it and never missed a day or class.” He would graduate in 1989, was voted by his classmates as “Most Likely to Succeed,” and was ready to conquer the food world.
Early Restaurant Experiences
After earning his Associate’s Degree in 1989, Chef Luke viewed New Orleans as the culinary hotspot of the time and decided to relocate there. He landed a position at Commander’s Palace as a line cook for Emeril Lagasse. This was before Emeril had attained notoriety as a world-famous chef, but the restaurant was humming along. “We were doing 900 covers a night,” says Luke. “The restaurant was so hot inside, you were dripping wet, and when it rained, it would pour all over my prep area. There, you either worked hard and earned Emeril’s respect or you were out.” Emeril was impressed by Luke’s hard work, and he was promoted to Lead Cook.
Luke would eventually move with his girlfriend to Cape Cod, where he worked as a sous chef at Cranberry Moose, a well-respected restaurant that earned three stars from the Boston Globe. He also worked as a sous chef at Rocco’s in Boston, but it was his hunger for learning that led him to further his education far, far away.
Will Work for Food
In the early 90s, fusion cuisine was becoming the thing, and chefs were beginning to cross cultural lines.
Chef Luke recalls, “At that time, I was trying to find my voice as a chef, but felt the very best chefs always pursued their culture, and mine was Italian.”
Chef Luke did just that, and after working two jobs and 12 hours a day, saved up enough money, packed his bags and moved to Italy. He started in Rome, and although he didn’t speak Italian, he struggled to get by with a language book. For five years, he worked at no fewer than 22 restaurants across Italy, including Rome, Venice, and Sicily, and his compensation at all of them was free room and board.
Some of the accommodations were rather primitive, of which he describes, “There was no electricity, and I read by candlelight. In the middle of the room was just a cot, no hot water in the bathroom, just a tub with a spigot, no toilet seat.”
During this time, he would periodically return to the US briefly to earn money and then return to Italy to absorb more culinary lessons and experiences.
Wynn Comes Calling
After returning to the US, Chef Luke secured executive positions at restaurants such as Rose Tattoo in Philadelphia from 1993 to 1994, as well as at others in Boston and San Francisco. After returning to Italy in 1997, he became executive chef and a partner at the renowned Ristorante al Covo, the highest-rated fish restaurant in Venice and one of the most revered in Italy.
After returning to the US again and while in New York in 1998, he caught the attention of Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas casino owner who was starting to build his empire. The casino mogul convinced Chef Luke to fly with him in his private jet to Las Vegas.
Palladino recalls, “At first, I wanted nothing to do with going to Las Vegas, it’s a desert, I have no interest. But I’d never been on a private jet, so why the hell not? I get on the plane before [Steve Wynn] arrives, and there’s gold everywhere, gold fixtures and sinks and a king-sized bed. So, Steve gets on the plane and we take off, and he spoke to me for five hours straight, the most fascinating storyteller I’d ever met.”
After Wynn convinced him to work for him in Las Vegas, Chef Luke was asked to work with another legendary chef, Todd English, at his Olives Mediterranean restaurant at the Bellagio. Soon after, Wynn pegged Luke to open Onda at The Mirage, which was perhaps the first high-end Italian restaurant on the Vegas Strip. While there, he would become an early mentor to another future culinary legend, James Trees, who at the time was assigned to do his externship at Onda while attending the CIA.
Career as a Restaurant Designer
Chef Luke would go on to create, own, and manage concepts with prestigious hospitality partners, including The Borgata Hotel Atlantic City, Caesars Entertainment, Harrah’s, Revel Casino, Isle of Capri Biloxi, and Pompano Beach; and in Las Vegas with Clique Hospitality, Red Rock Casino, and Wynn Resorts.
To list all the restaurants he managed, developed, branded, or owned would take more space than this article allows, but we’d be amiss if we didn’t include some highlights.
There was the self-named Luke Palladino, a 220-seat upscale Italian restaurant in Harrah’s in Atlantic City, which he developed, designed, and operated from 2010 to 2015. At Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, from 2014 to 2016, he conceptualized, developed, designed, and branded LP Steak, an upscale 240-seat steakhouse, as well as Fianco, featuring a modern Italian-American menu. From 2001-2016 he was Chef/President of Luke Palladino Hospitality Group and owned, consulted, operated, and managed restaurant concepts of various styles including the 125-seat upscale Italian restaurant Luke Palladino Seasonal Italian Cooking in Linwood, NJ; off-site catering company Luke Palladino Catering in NJ/Philadelphia; and Palladino’s, 100-seat regional Italian steakhouse and bar in Philadelphia.
Meta-Hospitality
After many years in the industry, forging his way to the forefront as one of our nation’s most accomplished and talented chefs, and ultimately recognized as legendary, in 2018, Chef Luke developed Meta-Hospitality. The company consults on, partners with, and opens restaurant projects. To date, they have developed 18 concepts, with more currently in development.
When asked how long he works with a restaurant once it’s been created, Chef Luke says, “It’s ongoing. We typically do a year of oversight and then ask if they are happy with us, want to keep us on, and our clients hire us continuously over and over again.”
Next up is a massive project: a casino in Tirana, Albania, the first-ever Las Vegas-style casino in the region. Luke is a developing partner who assists with design and planning for the hotel, food and beverage, entertainment, and retail. It is expected to break ground in 2026 with a projected opening in 2028-2029.
Laguna Pool House & Kitchen
The latest Meta-Hospitality project is located right here in Las Vegas, at the Laguna Pool House & Kitchen at Palms Place, which marks a departure for Chef Luke, as it features a more global cuisine.
As it’s the only restaurant in the high-rise condominium, it offers room service, a pool menu, and a variety of options, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. The well-rounded menu Chef Luke designed includes the likes of NY-style pizza (with a softer chewy crust); ½ pound Classic Burger—a blend of brisket, short rib, and chuck topped with a slightly spicy pimento cheese spread and American cheese served with fries; Spicy Tuna Poke with wonton chips, avocado, unagi sauce, and tobiko caviar; and creative brunch offerings like frosted flakes-crusted Challah French Toast and Chorizo Omelet with pico de gallo and pepper jack and cotija cheeses.
When He’s Not Working
In his downtime, Chef Luke enjoys SCUBA diving and is an avid reader, reading 35-40 books a year. He particularly enjoys exploring the subjects of psychology, self-development, and inner development. Another pastime is collecting wine, a hobby for which he is well-suited, as he is a WSET-certified sommelier. In addition to adding to his collection, he enjoys traveling to wine regions and is working on a docuseries of recent trips to Italy.
Chef Luke shares several of his recipes and cooking videos in the Chef Life section of his website, where he demonstrates simple tips and techniques, as well as Italian food that is rarely seen in the US. In the videos and recipes, Chef Luke’s philosophy of cooking is seen, which he describes as “my recipes are the culmination of my experiences, some of which were with family. I love simplicity, using the best quality ingredients in season. Italian cooking is not dressed up.” He also has a series on his Instagram page titled “One Dish One Wine,” which is precisely what it sounds like, intending to get you out of your comfort zone and into a glass of something different.
After spending a truly remarkable and enjoyable hour learning his story, I came away impressed with how down-to-earth he is and what a great storyteller he is. If you’re lucky, you’ll find him at the Laguna Pool House & Kitchen and snag an earful of his captivating experiences and insights.
