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At José Andrés’ restaurants, desserts are personal

The Jaleo’s top-selling dessert is his mom’s flan recipe

Alicia Kelso, Executive editor

October 4, 2024

7 Slides
The Key Lime Beach at the Bazaar Mar/Bar Centro

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Katrina Frederick

Throughout the past 25 years, chef and humanitarian José Andrés and his partners have been growing the José Andrés Group, which now includes nearly 40 concepts in Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Washington, D.C., The Bahamas, and Dubai.

In Vegas, his restaurants are as diverse as they come, but one common theme among them is a detailed focus on the dessert menu. Take, for instance, the Giggling Buddha at China Poblano in The Cosmopolitan. The offering includes strawberry gelatina, lychee, seasonal berries, lychee air, strawberries, and cream ice cream. The strawberry gelatina is in the shape of buddha, with the feet molded from one of Andrés’ daughter’s dolls. At Jaleo, also at The Cosmopolitan, the top-selling dessert is the Andrés’ mom’s flan recipe – or the flan al estilo tradicional de mama Marisa con espuma de crema catalana – a classic Spanish custard with 'espuma' of Catalan cream.  

About the Author

Alicia Kelso

Executive editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Alicia Kelso is the executive editor of Nation's Restaurant News. She began covering the restaurant industry in 2010 for QSRweb.com, FastCasual.com and PizzaMarketplace.com. When her son was born, she left the industry to pursue a role in higher education, but swiftly returned after realizing how much she missed the space. In filling that void, Alicia added a contributor role at Restaurant Dive and a senior contributor role at Forbes.
Her work has appeared in publications around the world, including Forbes Asia, NPR, Bloomberg, The Seattle Times, Crain's Chicago, Good Morning America and Franchise Asia Magazine.
Alicia holds a degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University, where she competed on the women's swim team. In addition to cheering for the BGSU Falcons, Alicia is a rabid Michigan fan and will talk about college football with anyone willing to engage. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her wife and son.

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