The Payard Chocolate Clock will
display nine different time zones and dispense free
truffles
LAS
VEGAS (APRIL 11, 2008) - Clocks and casinos have long been at
odds-- until now. Time and truffles are the perfect partners with the new Payard
Chocolate Clock at Caesars Palace. The new central timepiece of the
Las Vegas Strip breaks decade old perceptions that clocks are non-existent in
Las Vegas
casinos. Guests willing to gamble on knowing the time in the city that never
sleeps are rewarded as the clock dispenses free truffles at intervals during
operating hours.
The truffle-inspired shaped, 13 foot
tall timepiece is supported by sleek metallic strips resembling lustrous ribbons
of melting chocolate. Rich cocoa colored beams frame windows that provide a peek
into the Chocolate Clock's mechanical chamber. The clock mechanisms create the
six-step process in making chocolates and truffles. Bowls containing what appears to be melted
chocolate rotate by the windows as three large and six smaller clocks tick
above. The clock was designed by Rockwell Group, who also designed the
Caesars Palace restaurant and the flagship Payard Pâtisserie
& Bistro in New York
City.
Payard, known for being an innovator
in the kitchen by pushing culinary limits, opened his Caesars Palace restaurant in November 2007. With
sweet and savory menu items and the only all dessert tasting menu in Las Vegas,
he takes a whimsical, yet upscale, approach to the classic neighborhood pastry
shops found throughout Paris' Left Bank.
About François
Payard
François
Payard is a third generation French pastry chef who cultivated his passion for
the art of pastry as a child in his grandfather's acclaimed shop Au Nid des
Friandises on the Riviera. In 1988
François moved to Paris where he held his first position as
pastry chef at La Tour d'Argent, followed by a stint at Lucas Carton, both
Michelin three-star restaurants. In 1990
François moved to New
York and was pastry chef at the legendary Le Bernardin
for three years. His next stop was at
Restaurant Daniel where in 1995 he was awarded "Pastry Chef of the Year" by the
James Beard Foundation. Two years later
François fulfilled his life-long dream when he opened Payard Pâtisserie &
Bistro and was named "Pastry Chef of the Year" in 1998 by Bon Appetit's Food & Entertainment
Awards. In 2004 François was awarded
with the prestigious Ordre du Merite
Agricole Medal of Honor by the French Government. In 2005 he was given Wine Spectator magazine's "Award of
Excellence" and in 2006 was selected by Relais Desserts as one of the top 85
pastry chefs in the world.
