I’m Noe Alarcon, and I’ve lived in Las Vegas since 1981. I know Las Vegas, I love Las Vegas, and I hope, through Noe Knows Vegas, to share interesting anecdotes about The Entertainment Capital of the World, my home for more than four decades now.
Yours truly and Vegas Prime Magazine Editor-in-Chief Don Chareunsy sat down with award-winning and longtime Chef Rick Moonen and his wife Roni Fields-Moonen ahead of the second-annual Aaron Y Amigos by Pepsi fundraiser by Aaron Sanchez, which Moonen is participating in alongside John Baez, Sam Choy, Ronnie Rainwater and Michael Schwartz on Saturday, Sept. 28, at SpeedVegas.
Fun fact: Moonen cooked for former President Richard Nixon, who enjoyed Dover sole for lunch. Here are highlights of our lively and nostalgic conversation during lunch at El Dorado Cantina in Tivoli Village in August:
You career goes way back to Sirio Maccioni.
I’ve been doing this for 48 years now, since I was 20. I’ve seen a few things, and I know a few people and have been a few places (laughs). My career has been blessed from the start.
When I first interviewed for Le Cirque in New York, they didn’t give me the time of day. But when they found out I worked for the competitor The Jockey Club, Sirio stole me. I got a call at my parents’ house, and they offered me the job. I started working, it was around Thanksgiving because they were giving out turkeys to the employees. So that’s how far back I go.
You’re from New York. Born and raised?
Yes, I’m from New York. I was born in Rochester, Minn., but I grew up in Flushing.
Where did you and Roni meet? In New York?
No, in Oaxaca, Mexico (laughs). That’s where people meet. Its cuisine, it’s everything, its Mezcal, mole, it’s the best everything, the best chiles.
RONI: I moved to Southwest Florida from St. Louis in my early 20s. I was in production, fashion and magazines. I was hired to work on a pilot TV show in Oaxaca, Mexico. I went there on spec and hoping it would become a show. I went there and had no idea who Rick Moonen was. I knew who Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse were. I loved cooking, but I had a limited knowledge of chefs. Rick was the guest on the show.
RICK: I’m invited by the host of the show; she’s going to be on-air, as well. She was the international correspondent for Bon Appetit magazine. All these chef competitions were airing at the time. She was sick of them and wanted to show the artistry of the chefs and their culture and palate of flavors. It was 2011. … It was a mix of Anthony Bourdain and “Chopped.”
[Five minutes later] RONI: We’re forgetting the main point of the story of how we met.
RICK: We have a million stories – we could hang out for a month and not tell them all! Roni’s in charge of all this, and I come along. You can already tell I’m kinda hyper and nuts. She has the inside story, but they keep me in the dark. I’m just a knucklehead trying to look good. We ended up becoming friends because I wasn’t trying to hit on her, and she wasn’t trying to hit on me. We were both married when we met and both later divorced. We ended up falling in love, getting married and living a life that’s insane. That’s how we met – that’s how it all happened.
Tell us about your upcoming fundraiser Aaron Y Amigos with Chef Aaron Sanchez.
Aaron has become a good friend of mine. We knew each other lightly in New York. He wanted to work for me, but he was afraid to interview with me. I must’ve had a bastard of a reputation.
My friend Emeril Lagasse has a great charity out of New Orleans. It’s a class act, they’re good people, and I love the results for the children who benefit from the campus that he’s created for giving back to the community. It’s fantastic.
Aaron Sanchez’s charity is a no-brainer, too. It’s new, it’s for Latino youth, it’s more personal. It’s a real mentorship for Latinos. It’s really new; we’re building a new charity.
This is his second year doing it; the first year was in Phoenix, and Chicago is the third year. It’s a big deal. We want people to have a good time and talk about it and build it. I’m helping out a buddy here because I love the guy.
Do you miss RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay?
It was an immediate yes when I was asked while in New York to open a seafood restaurant in Mandalay Bay. I flew out to Las Vegas, and it was still a big yes. They gave me a great deal, and I couldn’t refuse. I opened there in 2005. It was exciting and all new to me.
I miss the family. My life hasn’t always been easy, and I didn’t make it easy. I needed a hideout, and that hideout was the business. That was my place, my comfort zone, where I got to touch tables and meet people and interact with them.
But all the stress – you never had a minute when it wasn’t on you. I don’t miss that, but the family I created are still family. There hardly isn’t a place in Las Vegas serving great food where at least two of my former employees aren’t working there, and that’s a great feeling for me.
We were creating cultures back then. You don’t see that anymore. People were loyal to each other. People cared about each other. We were a bunch of misfits.
Always love what you do and do what you love, and you’ll be fine. Right now, I’m living the dream I always dreamt I could live. I get to enjoy my wife. I get to enjoy my life. It’s a better life. I’m living a great life.
Signing off until next time,
Noe
More: AaronSanchezImpactFund.com + SpeedVegas.com
