Metro Phoenix has an abundance of restaurants. Whether you’re hungry for Mexican, Italian, Cuban, or just want a good old-fashioned burger and fries, there’s an option out there for you. However, despite the ever-growing assortment of dining opportunities in a fast-growing metro area, there is one thing the Valley doesn’t have that many other cities of similar sizes do: celebrity chef restaurants. The majority of name-brand chef restaurants around greater Phoenix are smaller spin-offs, such as the Bobby Flay restaurant coming to the airport, and Guy Fieri’s joint at Chase Field. The lack of celebrity chef-based establishments is going to change in the near future though, as one of the biggest names in food television will be opening not one, but two restaurants in Phoenix.
A staple of afternoon cooking shows, Giada De Laurentiis is now a mainstay on Food Network. Television viewers likely wouldn’t go a day without watching the popular food channel and not seeing her. Her cooking career has been well documented, as she originally studied the culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, before going to work for another legendary chef, Wolfgang Puck. Eventually, she put together a small spread for Food & Wine back in 2002. Following that, Food Network contacted her and, within a year, Everyday Italian premiered. Since then, Giada has only grown in popularity. While Everyday Italian stopped producing new episodes in 2008, Giada still has a large number of shows still in production, including Giada in Paradise, Giada in Italy, Giada Entertains, Giada’s Holiday Handbook, Giada on The Beach, Winner Cake All, Bobby and Giada in Italy, and most recently Simply Giada.
Unlike other celebrity chefs though, for the first decade of her on-camera career, Giada did not have her own restaurant. The majority of personalities on Food Network had risen to popularity only after establishing themselves as mainstays in the restaurant world, but Giada proved different. She did not open a restaurant until debuting GIADA inside of the Cromwell in Las Vegas. And now, two new restaurants will be coming to Phoenix.
Caesars Republic Scottsdale is currently under construction, with an official launch date for the casino and hotel scheduled for early next year. This will include two Giada De Laurentiis restaurants. The first is Luna by Giada, which will be the hotel’s signature restaurant. The restaurant will feature Italian with California influences, while the second restaurant, Pronto by Giada, will be a laid-back, casual cafe restaurant where guests can order many of her signature Italian dishes as well as some to-go offerings. The two restaurants will open alongside the hotel and casino.
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