Nestled between the Bellagio and the also under construction MGM CityCenter mega complex, the $3 billion resort has gotten a competitive edge with the announcement this week that the original celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has signed a deal to bring his catering division to the mega-resort.

Starting with the resort’s 2009 Wolfgang Puck catering will be the exclusive hotel caterer. This marks the first time a celebrity chef’s company will cater room service, hotel room mini bars, employee dining room and its meetings.

"Wolfgang Puck exemplifies the ultimate in culinary arts and restaurant hospitality," said Audrey Oswell, COO of The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino. "This collaboration will merge gourmet dining with other non-traditional facets of our hotel and resort, allowing us to immerse Vegas visitors and residents in an unprecedented style of sophistication."

"I've been a part of some amazing, cutting-edge endeavors," said Wolfgang Puck, chef/owner of Wolfgang Puck Catering. "But this creative partnership with The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino has me especially excited. We share a common desire to achieve a high standard for fine dining, and this allows us to share our passion outside of a restaurant setting."

The Cosmopolitan is a $3 Billion full-service resort and casino that hopes to grab market share from its extremely successful neighbors. It’s looking to grab a front seat in the race to create a new Vegas design paradigm, a cutting edge modernistic aesthetic not yet seen in the Nevada desert. A similar look is being adopted for other projects such as MGM CityCenter and Echelon.

The resort will hope to grab design savvy guests with a mix of boutique distinction, urban design and technological advancement. The Cosmopolitan will feature 2,998 condo-hotel and hotel rooms set inside two 600-foot-tall towers. The towers are perched atop a four-level, 100-foot-tall lower podium. The sleek, iconic architecture provides direct accessibility to all full-service amenities, including more than 150,000 square feet of integrated ballroom, business, convention & meeting/conference space, a 40,000 square-foot spa, salon & fitness center and an 80,000 square-foot casino incorporating the most advanced gaming technology.

Wolfgang Puck is considered the father of modern Las Vegas cuisine, and this deal is an evolution for the company. For Puck Las Vegas life started back in 1992 when the incredibly successful Los Angeles based Spago opened a second outlet in Sin City after much cajoling from the developer of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. According to Tom Kaplan Senior Managing Partner of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, both he and chef Wolfgang Puck felt there was no room for a contemporary fine dining restaurant in a place that up until specialized in $1.99 shrimp cocktails and all-you-can-eat prime rid dinners. 

“People thought we were making a big mistake and at the time felt we were pioneering something,” Kaplan said. “That first year was a complete growing experience because it took some time to figure out how to make the operation successful. But after that it got much easier. Last year Spago had its best year ever.”

This latest deal by Puck hopes to bring chic cuisine to areas of the property that usually don’t get as much attention, most notably rooms service.

Wolfgang Puck Catering currently operates restaurant and catering services at cultural and entertainment venues in major markets including Hollywood & Highland, the Kodak Theatre, and Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles; Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, the University of Chicago's and many more.

"This venture represents an incredible opportunity for us to showcase our expertise in a new and exciting way," said Carl Schuster, CEO and president of Wolfgang Puck Catering. "We are looking forward to an illustrious, long-lasting relationship with The Cosmopolitan."

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