Chef
Frank Medina
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
i. Biography
In Las Vegas, the work is not just to cook beef, fire, cotton candy, caviar, rum, and nitrogen, but to manage how those elements land on the plate. Since 2024, Frank Medina has led Bazaar Meat by José Andrés as executive chef, where Spanish-influenced steakhouse cooking is pushed toward bold flavor, smoke, and table-side control. The point is not spectacle for its own sake; it is timing, temperature, and a clear hand on the pass.
The Path
Training at University of Havana gave Frank Medina a formal base before work at Somni Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, United States, followed by a chef role at CUT by Wolfgang Puck. He later moved into the larger pace of Las Vegas as executive sous chef at Zuma Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, and was part of the original team at Bazaar Meat by José Andrés in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (2014–2018). The sequence shows a route through exacting kitchens, then into a market where scale, finish, and presentation carry equal weight. Today, Frank is executive chef of Bazaar Meat by José Andrés (since 2024).
The Work Today
Since 2024, Medina’s role has been executive chef at the Las Vegas restaurant. The job covers menu development, new dish creation, directing food preparation, and maintaining food and hygiene standards. That kind of leadership asks for control across service: enough structure to keep the kitchen moving, enough flexibility to keep the menu responsive to a room built around smoke and heat. The cooking is defined by Spanish-influenced steakhouse technique and fire-driven bold flavor. Vaca vieja sits at the center of that approach, with older-cattle steaks helping define the restaurant’s reputation. Around it are dishes that work through contrast: cotton candy foie gras, an inventive signature dish featured in the tasting menu, and caviar cones, a returning favorite at the revamped restaurant. The point is texture as much as richness, with sweetness, salt, and crispness set against one another. The beverage signatures use the same logic of staging. The Magic Mojito is a rum-based cocktail strained over cotton candy, shifting a familiar build into something lighter in form. The Nitro Caipirinha is frozen tableside, using controlled cold as part of the presentation. The Washugyu rib-eye, a famed tasting-menu centerpiece, also returns at the Palazzo location, showing how the menu balances recall with change.
Signature
Frank's signature dishes include vaca vieja, cotton candy foie gras, caviar cones, Magic Mojito, and Nitro Caiprinha.
Acclaim
Frank's honors include OAD North America #78 (2026).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Frank
What is Frank Medina's current role?
As of 2026, Frank Medina is Executive Chef.
Where did Frank Medina train or study?
Frank Medina trained at University of Havana.
What recognition has Frank Medina received?
OAD North America #78 (2026).
