Divine Events and Divine Café at the Springs Preserve property, 333 S. Valley View, welcomes Chef Garry Velasquez to the Divine kitchen to create delicious menus for both Divine Events Catering and Divine Café.
Pam Howatt, owner and founder of Divine Events and Divine Café, says, “We were thrilled to have Chef Garry join us last fall leading our Culinary Team. His passion, creativity and experience in producing large events is a fabulous addition to our team.”
Velasquez learned to cook professionally in the 1990s on the Las Vegas Strip where he found that he enjoyed catering, because of the creativity and fast-paced events. A pivotal moment happened in 2001, when he joined the UNLV Thomas and Mack Center Team; he experienced and fell in love with the high energy and volume of arena sports and entertainment. In 2005, Velasquez was exposed to large-scale events at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
In the Summer of 2008, Velasquez traveled to Beijing, China for the Olympics, where he was a Consultant Chef for Ciro’s Pomodoro Italian Restaurant.
Velasquez graduated from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, with a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management and a degree in Culinary Arts Management from the College of Southern Nevada.
In addition, Velasquez founded the Grilla Kitchen, a street food concept that hosted several pop ups and private events.
Velasquez was also selected as part of the opening team for the Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena in 2016. He was part of the team that brought the menu to life from concept to reality for opening day, including tastings for concessions, catering and suites. Velasquez also assisted Chef Garry De Lucia at the Oracle Arena for the 2017 NBA Finals and recently Indian Wells Tennis Gardens for the 2018 Paribas Open.
For more information about the Divine Events and Divine Café visit www.divineeventslv.com.