Elizabeth Blau is the founder and chairman of Blau & Associates, a Las Vegas restaurant development company she started in 2003. She and her husband, Kim Canteenwalla, launched Society Cafe at Encore in late 2008. Blau's longstanding friendship with celebrity chef Kerry Simon resulted in their fifth collaboration when they opened Simon Restaurant & Lounge at Palms Place in 2008 with partner George Maloof. Blau began her career with famed restaurateur Sirio Maccioni. When Maccioni expanded the Le Cirque brand to Las Vegas, Blau's work on the project caught the attention of Steve Wynn, then CEO of Mirage Resorts. As vice president of restaurant development for Mirage Resorts, Blau persuaded a group of award-winning chefs to join the company and the burgeoning Las Vegas dining scene. In 2004, Wynn recruited Blau to join Wynn Las Vegas as executive vice president of restaurant development and marketing. Blau appeared as a judge on Food Network's "Iron Chef America" and was featured on the Travel Channel and the "Martha Stewart Show."

Panel:
The Chef's Table: An Insider's Look at the Business of Fine Dining

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