minutes after meeting brianmalarkey, i begin
searchingforhisoffswitch.Fiveminutes later,Icalloffthe
search, realizingsuchaswitchdoesn’texist.Even though
the celebrity chef is abit under theweather on thismild
winterday, he’s still operatingat apaceas frenetic as the
city inwhichhe’sabouttodropanchor forthefirsttime.
Towit: In less thanahalf-hour,Malarkeyrips through
three photo shoots (complete with partial wardrobe
changes), includingone in frontof the iconic“Welcome to
LasVegas”signandanothersittingatopaHarley-Davidson
parkedunderaminiatureWelcometoLasVegassign.Each
time, the quirky poses and goofy facial expressions are
art-directedby themodelhimself.
For thenext several hours,Malarkey is perpetually a
maninmotion,beitphysicalorpsychological(iftherewere
awindow intohis brain, you’dnodoubt see it constantly
working).Heeven talksatwarp speed—abouthis forma-
tiveyearsgrowinguponanOregon ranch; hispartying in
college thateventually ledhim toculinaryschool;his time
atculinaryschool(“Ihated it!”);hisfirst jobasastarstruck
linecookat anupscaleLosAngeles restaurant frequented
by the likesof JohnTravoltaandJuliaChild (“You’re like,
‘Oh,myGod, they’reeatingmy food.This is insane!’”); his
growing restaurant empire (currently seven, soon tobe
eight); hisTV career (he’sbeena regularonvariousFood
NetworkandTLCshows,amongothers);andhisfamily life
(helivesinSanDiegowithhiswifeandthreeyoungchildren).
One of the few timesMalarkey slows down iswhen I
queryhimabouthisfirst trip toLasVegas.His sharpblue
eyes light up ashe recalls theday in 1989 that he andhis
youngerbrothermadeapitstop in thedeserton theirway
fromOregon tovisit their father inArizona. “Mybrother
was 16; Iwas 18. Ihadmy fake ID, and Iwasabadboy,”he
saysinararemomentofsheepishness.“IrememberItucked
inmybrother,wentdownstairsandIshowedupbackinthe
roomthenextmorningatabout8o’clock.”Hepauses.“Ihad
areally, reallygood time inVegas.”
More thanaquarter-century later,Malarkey isback in
Vegas—onlynowhe’s intentondeliveringthegoodtimes.
•••
wolfgangpuck.emerillagasse.joëlrobuchon.guy
Savoy. GordonRamsay. NobuMatsuhisa. Kerry Simon.
BobbyFlay. The list of legendary chefswhohave set up
shopinLasVegasisasimpressiveasitislong.Whichiswhy,
wheneverMalarkeytalksaboutopeninghisfirstrestaurant
on theStrip—his fourthversionof Searsucker, avibrant,
social-dining restaurant he launched inSanDiego four
yearsago—thechefconsistentlyleansonasingleadjective,
almost likea tic: “Surreal.”
HEATHERGILL
F I V E
SPRING 2015 • CELEBRATED LIVING 75
