Rare 120 The Hard Rock Hotel
4455 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89169
(702)693-5000 www.hardrockhotel.com
Chef Jonathan Snyder found his path early on in life, working at his family’s fast-paced Lake Tahoe eatery while still in high school. It was here, at The Dory’s Oar, that he would realize his passion for cooking that would lead him onto a path to Hyde Park, New York and the acclaimed Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A.).
After graduating with a degree in Culinary Arts, Snyder would return to his native Nevada, this time landing in blossoming Las Vegas taking a job at The Mirage Casino Resort as the property’s Master Cook overseeing both a fine-dining French bistro as well as the popular gourmet steakhouse, Kokomos. In 1998, MGM Mirage was preparing to open the gaming company’s pinnacle resort, The Bellagio, with a plan to change Las Vegas. With five years under his belt at The Mirage, Snyder was selected to join the opening team at The Bellagio as the Executive Chef of Prime Steakhouse.
Prime was to be no ordinary steakhouse, the brain-child of acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and designed by Michael DeSantis, it would go on to generate annual revenues of over $16 million per year. At the helm was Snyder, responsible for on-going menu development, food production and kitchen management while working closely with Vongerichten to ensure that his worldly standards were being followed, and even exceeded.
After eight years as the executive chef of Prime Steakhouse, Snyder would join PURE Management Group as Assistant Corporate Chef spearheading the company’s quickly expanding restaurant division. His duties would range from developing menu concepts and overseeing the opening of both fine dining outlets like Social House at Treasure Island and Company American Bistro at the Luxor, as well as casual concepts like Lucky Strike Lanes at The Rio and Dick’s Last Resort at the Excalibur.
