Serendipity 3 brings edible garden to Las Vegas!

Beneath its trademark ice cream sundae topiary, Serendipity 3 at Caesars Palace recently transformed its decorative floral and fauna into the Las Vegas Strip’s first seasonal garden, spicing up its dishes and reducing its impacts on the environment.

From savory herbs to flavorful veggies and exciting spices, the edible garden has allowed Executive Chef Michael Wolf to incorporate homegrown produce into world-famous Serendipity 3 dishes. The garden currently features sunflowers, cherry tomatoes, globe artichokes, roma tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, bell peppers (yellow, red, green), rosemary, basil, cilantro, curly parsley, chives, mint, shallots, dill, marjoram, oregano, tarragon, savory, hyssop, anise, coriander and garlic. Select dishes on the menu use ingredients directly from the garden including the heirloom tomato salad (tomatoes and basil), the New York Steak of Mind (rosemary) and the margherita pizza (basil). In addition, several of the restaurant’s cocktails contain ingredients from the garden such as the cucumber basil gin rickey and the madras mojito.

“Our seasonal edible garden allows us to help the environment while improving the quality and freshness of our food,” said Wolf, executive chef and general manager of Serendipity 3. “Guests enjoy seeing where the ingredients are grown, especially since a wide variety of our menu items benefit from the herbs.”

Serendipity is one of New York City’s most beloved eateries with more than 50 years of history.  The Las Vegas location offers a one-of-a-kind dining experience, adjacent to the iconic fountains of Caesars Palace and the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. The restaurant serves over-the-top desserts and sweets that are perfect for the ultimate indulgence in addition to a variety of savory creations that makes the whimsical restaurant a haven of comfort food. Serendipity 3 is open Sunday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to midnight. For reservations please call 702.731.7373.

“Caesars Entertainment is committed to reducing our business impacts on the environment,” said Gwen Migita, vice president of sustainability and community affairs for Caesars Entertainment. “The Serendipity 3 garden is one of many sustainable practices implemented at Caesars Palace and our resorts worldwide through our CodeGreen environmental strategy.”

Other responsible green practices on Caesars Palace’s grounds include planting drought-resistant plants across the resort, removing 30,000 square feet of landscaping to reduce water usage and sorting all trash for recyclables and assets. CodeGreen seeks to make both positive environmental and social impacts while reducing water, energy, waste consumption and carbon at each of its more than 50 properties worldwide. By enabling efforts through thousands of employees and by partnering with venues like Serendipity, Caesars Entertainment is increasing sustainability education and serving as catalyst for environmental change starting with the Las Vegas Strip.

Caesars Entertainment Sustainability

Caesars Entertainment's resorts are committed to environmental sustainability – investing at a corporate level more than $66 million on conservation projects that have reduced energy usage by more than 170 million kilowatt hours (kWh) and carbon emissions by 110,000 metric tons each year. One such investment is the use of solar and steam co-generation facilities at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Showboat Atlantic City that capture waste heat and steam to create onsite energy, thereby decreasing demand for purchased electricity.

Caesars’ nearly 70,000 employees drive its sustainability strategy, CodeGreen, through innovative environmentally responsible practices; implementing more than 110 large impact conservation projects to reduce water, energy and waste consumption at a corporate level. More than 200 of the company's employees have completed its Green Meetings & Events Certification training program, the only program of its kind in the industry. During the past eight years, CodeGreen programs have resulted in annual savings of 200 million gallons of water and 320,000 gallons of waste vegetable oil among other waste recycling efforts.

Caesars Entertainment's leadership in environmental stewardship and energy efficiency has earned the company more than 40 environmental awards and multiple Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) honors. Caesars has achieved "industry firsts" in transparency of impacts such as GRI protocol reporting and establishing aggressive carbon reduction goals around environmental and social metrics. For further information on Caesars’ CodeGreen efforts and its sustainability report visit www.caesars.com/codegreen or visit the CodeGreen blog at www.codegreen.harrahsblogs.com.

CAESARS PALACE

Reigning at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, Caesars Palace features 3,960 hotel guest rooms and suites, including the brand new Octavius Tower and 180-room Nobu Hotel set to open in 2012; and 25 diverse restaurants and cafes, including the 24-hour café Central by James Beard award-winning Chef Michel Richard. The 85-acre resort offers nearly 129,000 square-feet of casino space including a 14,000 square-foot poker room; a five-acre Garden of the Gods pool complex showcasing eight pools and two gardens; the 50,000 square-foot award-winning Qua Baths & Spa and Color Salon by renowned celebrity colorist Michael Boychuck; five elegant wedding chapels and outdoor gardens; 300,000 square-feet of premium meeting and convention space; and The Forum Shops at Caesars, an acclaimed 683,000-square-foot shopping plaza offering more than 160 boutiques and dining establishments. Caesars guests enjoy Cascata, one of the world’s most exclusive golf courses; and the 4,300-seat Colosseum spotlighting world class entertainers such as Celine Dion, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld and Shania Twain (beginning Dec. 2012). For more information, please visit www.caesarspalace.com. Find Caesars Palace on Facebook and follow on Twitter.