Joel Ott moved from Ohio to Las Vegas at the age of 19 to attend culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu. He subsequently worked for many high-end restaurants and premier properties such as the Loews Resort at Lake Las Vegas, the M Resort Spa Casino, and Koi Restaurant at Planet Hollywood. He made his mark on the Las Vegas Strip spending seven years at the Wynn’s Allegro and Sinatra restaurants and three years as Chef de Cuisine for the Italian restaurant at the Four Seasons. He also worked at Le Cirque, Circo, Picasso by Julian Serrano, and Todd English’s Olives — all at the Bellagio. He joined Ahern Hotel in September of 2019 as Executive Sous Chef and was subsequently promoted to Vice President of Culinary. In September of 2022, he added the role of Executive Chef to his many responsibilities.

From a young age Chef Joel was interested in food, travel and culture, and he developed his passion for food by growing vegetables and herbs in the family’s backyard garden. At 18 his first fulltime job was as a grocery store butcher where he further expanded his relationship with food.

Chef Joel has a passion for cuisine and loves to share his talents, but he also enjoys the new challenges he faces as head of the department. “All of us at the hotel are involved in developing this program from the ground up,” says Joel. “It’s a very interesting story starting with how Mr. Ahern originally bought the property, and it’s history currently in the making.”

As VP of Culinary and Executive Chef, Joel has more than 70 team members reporting to him. He is involved in every aspect of Ahern Hotel’s culinary activities, from planning and executing large banquet events, to creating new recipes for Ottimo Pizza Kitchen, to assisting in the kitchen as a cook or expediter on busy shifts.

“Now that I’m running a large team with many people, I’ve found that it’s very satisfying to teach eager minds some of the things I’ve learned over the years,” says Chef Joel. “I have nearly a decade and a half of learning from great chefs — trying, failing and eventually getting it right. That’s really the only way to truly understand and master a dish.”

Chef Joel spends as much time as he can with his wife Michelle, his two-year-old daughter Malia and his son Jaxon, born in September of 2022. “Having children has definitely changed me as a person and made me even more driven to succeed, but that success is defined differently,” said Chef Joel. “I want to provide well for my family, but also be present, and in this industry that can be a very difficult balance to strike.”

When he does get time to himself, Chef Joel is out enjoying Las Vegas’s beautiful natural surroundings — either kayaking out on Lake Mead and the Colorado River or hiking around Red Rock Canyon and Mt. Charleston.