A Taste of Vegas Comes To The 51 House in Edenton

EDENTON, N.C., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrity Chef Vic Vegas – best known for numerous appearances on the hit reality TV show Bar Rescue – has been named Executive Chef at The 51 House on the Edenton waterfront, owner Rose Tummarello has announced.

Vegas played a lead role in the restaurant's launch in fall 2016. Now he's back to help oversee restaurant operations and spice up its culinary image, Tummarello said.

He'll also take charge of all culinary aspects of Tummarello's dream project – transforming the second floor of the restaurant into the region's premier event space for weddings, banquets, corporate events and private parties. Construction is underway, with a grand opening gala planned for mid-March. 

Chef Vic specializes in traditional Italian and contemporary American comfort food, or, as he calls it, "food people like to eat."

The 42-year old Vegas started in the restaurant business after moving from Brooklyn to Las Vegas at the age of 13, working his way up from dishwasher to executive chef at a Las Vegas hotel restaurant.

Today he's known for a unique style that blends Vegas flair with the traditional recipes he learned from his mother and grandmother back home in Brooklyn.

"They're the reason I took this position," he said in an interview. "I'm involved in a lot of projects, but being a restaurant chef isn't one of them right now. This is my way of paying homage to them, to get back to the basics they taught me. So when Rose called, I didn't hesitate."

His 20-year career in the food industry includes a stint as the event specialist at the Rumor Boutique Hotel and Resort and the House of Lords Steakhouse in Las Vegas, where he specialized in high-volume banquets, holiday functions, weddings and corporate parties.

He first gained national television exposure in 2008, when he won the Gold Medal in the Food Network Challenge Big Bash Catering competition, followed by making the finals of the Food Network's Next Star competition in 2010.

He first came to Edenton in 2016 when Tummarello called in Jon Taffer – the founder of Taffer Dynamics consulting team and the star of the Bar Rescue show – to flip his usual script and help her start the restaurant.

"Jon and his team usually come in to save restaurants from failing," she said. "I decided to bring them in at the beginning, to make sure we did things right from the start."

Taffer's team developed the restaurant's concept, design, decor and menu. But its most important contribution might well have been bringing in a charismatic chef named Vic Vegas.

Contact:
Rose Tummarello, Owner
The 51 House
516-782-5000
[email protected]

SOURCE The 51 House