Las Vegas Chef Brings Skills to CLC

One piece of advice Abel Ramirez, a new Hospitality and Culinary faculty member at CLC, gives to his students is to take time during their career to travel around the world.

“You need to travel,” he said. “You need to taste the different cuisines and see the different cultures to know how they make their food.” Ramirez has been to 52 different countries, and he now finds himself at CLC for his first teaching position. He started last fall after spending his entire professional career in Las Vegas. Born in Mexico, Ramirez moved to Nevada when he was 10 years old. He earned his associate degree from his local community college, College of Southern Nevada, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Nevada - Las Vegas.

Before coming to CLC, Ramirez worked in multiple hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, including ones owned by MGM Resorts International. He began at the bottom at the beginning of his career, but he eventually helped open seven restaurants. His most recent position as a food and beverage manager involved managing nine different bars.

Ramirez enjoyed teaching during his first semester at CLC and is excited to help grow the program. As Prairie Restaurant, CLC’s student-run restaurant, moves from a basement location to a prime spot on Route 45 at the Brae Loch Golf Club in fall 2022, Ramirez sees a lot of opportunities to grow.

“The program has a great structure and faculty,” Ramirez said. “There’s a lot of potential to build out more degree options, especially with the new, expanded restaurant location.”