Name of business: The Cooking Experience by Mise En Place
Address: 9500 S. Eastern Ave, Suite 170, Las Vegas, NV 89123
Phone: 754.4400
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.miseenplacenv.com
Hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Owned by: Marcus Fortunato
In business since: 2013
Describe your business.
Our cooking classes are open to all skill levels. We have developed an array of courses that cater to everyone’s needs, from Le Petit Classes for kids to Flash Courses for home cooks looking to improve a specific dish or family meal to Gourmet Courses for foodies who want to take their cooking to the next level.
In addition, we offer Skills and Techniques courses to teach knife skills and even molecular gastronomy. If the customer wants to sit back and enjoy the experience of a live cooking show, we offer Lunch and Dinner Demos that highlight world cuisine.
Who are your customers?
They are the home cook and foodie in all of us, or anyone looking for a new form of entertainment.
There is no age barrier or skill level limitation to our courses. They are developed as individual modules, so there are no requirements to sign up for multiple classes.
All classes are offered throughout the week and at different times to meet anyone’s schedule.
What makes your business unique?
Everyone loves good food! Food becomes more interesting when you have the knowledge of how it was prepared, and you can identify the flavors and techniques that were used. It’s even more exciting when you can do it at home.
What is your business philosophy?
Quality, patience and customer service.
When you have a product that’s high quality, customers will embrace your business. You need patience to get customers through the door to experience that product, and top customer service will keep them coming back.
What’s the most important part of your job?
Developing menus, training our chefs and servers and monitoring our services and products to ensure they are maintained at the highest quality level.
What is the hardest part about doing business in Las Vegas?
The beautiful hotels and over-the-top buffets from the casino industry have made our city, but they also have created an extremely challenging market for businesses outside of the Strip.
The closing of many local businesses has limited the quality product offerings in neighborhoods and areas outside of mainstream Las Vegas. We have become tourists in our own city, and we hope we can help change that.
What is the best part about doing business in Las Vegas?
Besides the weather, Las Vegas presents the most open opportunity for new and different businesses, like ours.
How can Nevada improve its business climate?
Small and neighborhood businesses need help. The most interesting cities in the world are those where local shops and small restaurants thrive with both locals and tourists.
City government needs to understand that Las Vegas is not limited to one street, especially when its population rarely goes there.
What have you learned from the recession?
I was born in Brazil and have lived in four other countries. What we call recession, others call prosperity.
This is probably the best time to invest money and time into anything you truly believe in.