Julia Child once said, “People who love to eat are always the best people.” She also added, “No one is born a great cook. One learns by doing.” Upon meeting executive Chef and owner of Hedary’s Mediterranean Restaurant Joseph Davey in Las Vegas Nevada, we quickly concluded that Davey possesses the culinary prowess and affable personality of one who has taken his love and passion for food to an astute professional level through the process of doing.

For his first work experience, The original owners hired Davey when he was just 15 years young. Throughout college  Davey also worked in Italian food restaurants. “I loved that everyday was such a different and new experience,” said Davey. He trained alongside Frank Hedary,  the original owner who had established restaurants in Texas during the 1970’s and then opened the first Las Vegas location in 2003. “ I worked alongside Frank for several years and soon realized that is is such a clean healthy cuisine that I wanted to stay and well, here I am today.”

Everything is made in house. The bread is prepared daily and baked in the pizza ovens per order. All the produce is picked up fresh three times a week from local producers. Specialty spices come from an outside vendor and Hedary’s does market their own sauces and spices that can be purchased upon request.

“I stay inspired as a chef because I simply love food. As I prepare food I have found that just by  changing the flavor profile slightly, I can create  an entire new experience. I do like to have people try things that they may never have been interested in,”said Davey.  As far as suggestions for those who have never experienced Mediterranean cuisine, Davey’s  first point of inquiry is to discover what they insist on avoiding, since there are so many who struggle with allergies and food sensitives.

Editor Elaine Harris

The menu is largely vegetarian focused with items such as classic Baba Ganoosh; delicately layered eggplant, combined with roasted garlic, tahini and zingy lemon juice all topped with the freshest olive oil.  Davey recommends trying the fresh hummus. “We soak our garbanzo beans over night and then add garlic, tahini and salt and pepper. We want to get the freshest hummus to the plate,”added Davey. “We also do a really great Gyro sandwich  here, which your don’t see on a lot of menus, and our Labni , a smooth dry yougart sprinkled with olive oil is a popular appetizer. One of my favorite dishes and that of our guests, is the chicken Frarei; a half of chicken baked to a golden brown pan roasted with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, potatoes and tomatoes. We  also offer beer, cocktails and imported wines at good price points. My personal favorite is a Lebanese red blend wine, Reserve du Convent Chauteau Ksara.  Alot of our wines are from Lebanon which are actually made by French winemakers and are aged in French oak barrels for 5-10 years.”

Davey and his parents, alongside, girlfriend Allison Colarusso, have put their creative forces together during COVID by donating food to essential workers during the shutdown. “ Although operating at 50% capacity as per state guidelines, we have seen a pick up in our take out orders but we have stayed away from delivery. We stayed open due to our loyal customer base although we have had to furlough a few workers,” said Davey.

As far as the future, Davey is optimistic but realizes that all of us must adhere to what mandates are implemented by the state.  Creativity and flexibility are the two things that help propel Hedary’s forward. “We do have some exciting things coming in the future but one thing that is apart of our restaurant-promotion is the mini vial of Gold Bar premium blended whiskey finished in Napa Wine barrels. The Gold Bar brand won double gold medal in San Francisco,” said Colarusso who formally worked in sales and marketing in the Las Vegas beverage industry before joining Davey in the business. “The product will also be  represented by the Golden Knights hockey team for the next 5 years. It is the perfect gift size as it is literally in the shape of a gold bar with liquid whiskey gold inside. This is a real draw for Vegas Golden Knights Fans and really anyone looking for a unique Vegas memorabilia.”

Learning by doing, doing despite great challenges, and moving forward in a positive manner while while maintaining strong customer service, such as the one rendered by virtual assistants, is what Chef Joseph Davey attributes to his on-going success even in the time of COVID.  Davey and his supportive family are doing what they can to keep the door open and the lights turned on while cooking up their delectable Mediterranean cuisine at Hedary’s.