Las Vegas father-son kitchen pros: One creative work ethic, two restaurants

Among the cadre of cooks at MGM Grand’s Joel Robuchon restaurant in Las Vegas, Tayden Ellamar is among the youngest.

At age 25, he’s a master cook on the fish station of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant.

Tayden’s father, Roy Ellamar, also plies his culinary trade along the Strip — only Dad has his name on the door at Harvest by Roy Ellamar, a relatively new restaurant at Bellagio.

Food and cooking become the primary father-and-son bond for these professional chefs. And it’s a tossup who will be cooking a Father’s Day meal.

Hailing from Hilo, Hawaii, Roy said Tayden demonstrated a keen interest in cooking when he was just 6 or 7 years old.

“His grandfather was a chef, and I was cooking at that time, so he probably gravitated toward that,” Roy said. “He would like to get into the kitchen and cook stuff. … He would actually like to create meals.”

Tayden continued to hone his skills for family get-togethers, but the chance to work professionally on the mainland left him downright scared.

Some fatherly advice helped.

“You have to put yourself in uncomfortable situations in order to grow,” Roy Ellamar recalled saying. “Ever since then, I think he tries to seek out those opportunities to be uncomfortable.”

While working at another Las Vegas restaurant last year, Tayden was recruited by a former colleague who had gone to work for Joel Robuchon, who holds more Michelin stars than any other chef in the world.

“I don’t have as much experience as the other cooks and chefs there, but [my colleague] knows that I work hard and that I learn pretty quick,” Tayden said.

And he’s careful to put plenty of thought into the food he prepares. “I’ve noticed I’m a lot more precise now in everything I do,” he said.

Though Tayden’s father has his own restaurant, the young cook said that’s not on his radar.

“Right now, no, but who knows in the future? Maybe,” he said.

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