Wolfgang Puck's Postrio The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino
3377 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
(702) 796-1110 www.wolfgangpuck.com
Mark Sandoval was drawn to cooking at an early age. He and his father, a restaurant cook, would prepare dinners for his family three to four times a week. Mark loved the reaction his culinary creations received and spent his adolescent years cooking for friends and family as often as he could.
Sandoval moved to San Francisco in 1995 to attend the California Culinary Academy. His first restaurant position came at Moose’s, a North Beach favorite where Sandoval learned to prepare seasonal American cuisine with local, small-farm ingredients, a passion that would develop Sandoval’s cooking style.
After two and a half years, Sandoval left to help open Jianna restaurant, then worked as sous chef and banquet chef at the award-winning restaurant, Carneros located at The Lodge at Sonoma. Here, Sandoval raised his own herbs and vegetables for the daily changing menu and eventually became executive sous chef.
After three years, one of Carneros’ frequent guests, Steve Ledson, owner of Ledson wines, approached Sandoval with an opportunity to open a restaurant on the plaza in Sonoma called the Harmony Club. The restaurant provided Sandoval with his first executive chef position and the chance to continue cooking with farm fresh ingredients.
In 2005, Sandoval was hired to work as sous chef and saucier with his biggest inspiration, Master Chef Joel Robuchon, who was opening his first restaurant in the United States, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After one year, he transferred into the MGM Grand Culinary Department where he worked closely with the resort’s high profile clientele as he cooked for private parties and VIP guests.
Sandoval joined the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group in 2007 as sous chef at Postrio, Puck’s Las Vegas location of his famed San Francisco eatery and was promoted to Executive Chef.
At Postrio, Sandoval has changed the entire menu to reflect the flavor of the Mediterranean while staying true to the fresh, seasonality of American ingredients. He will continue to seek out new, unique ingredients to update his menus for both the casual café and more formal dining room.
