Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is a chef and restaurateur.

Early life and career

Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Josef Puck, after his mother's remarriage. The marriage produced two younger sisters and a younger brother for Wolfgang. He trained as an apprentice under Raymond Thuilier at L'Oustau de Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, at Hôtel de Paris in Monaco, and at Maxim's Paris before moving to the United States in 1973 at age 24. After two years at La Tour in Indianapolis, Puck moved to Los Angeles to become chef and part owner of Ma Maison restaurant.

Following the 1981 publication of his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen, which was based on his Ma Maison recipes, Puck opened the restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982. Fifteen years later, in 1997, Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, his ex-wife and business partner, moved the award-winning Spago to Beverly Hills. It has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. since 2004. The Infatuation wrote that "Spago made Wolfgang Puck the first (and maybe only) chef you and your grandma know by name."

His success enabled him to launch the Wolfgang Puck Companies which includes the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. and Wolfgang Puck Catering. The Wolfgang Puck Companies encompass over 20 fine dining restaurants, among the top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., premium catering services, more than 80 Wolfgang Puck Express operations, and kitchen and food merchandise, including cookbooks, canned foods, and coffee products. He is the official caterer for the Academy Awards Governors Ball, and has parlayed his celebrity into acting; his credits include Frasier, a recurring role as himself on Las Vegas and a cameo appearance in The Weather Man. He also appeared as himself on Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters, as well as Cooking Class with Wolfgang Puck on The Food Network, and in an American Idol season finale episode where he introduced unusual foods to Kellie Pickler in comic relief segments. He was featured as a guest judge on Season 7 of MasterChef. He also made a cameo appearance as himself on an episode of Tales from the Crypt, and appeared in a TV commercial advertising the state of California (along with famous people such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jack Nicholson).

In 1991, Puck opened his fourth restaurant, Granita, a seafood restaurant in Malibu, California. The restaurant closed in 2005.

Since 2003, Puck's recipes have been syndicated worldwide to newspapers and websites by Tribune Content Agency.

Wolfgang Puck is active in philanthropic endeavors and charitable organizations. He co-founded the Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation in 1982. The foundation supports the annual American Wine & Food Festival which benefits Meals on Wheels; it has raised more than $15 million since its inception.

Puck is The Honorary Chair Chef of the "Five Star Sensation" benefit in Cleveland, Ohio, which, every two years, helps to bring $10 million to support The Ireland Cancer Foundation of University Hospitals.

One of Wolfgang Puck's signature dishes at his original restaurant, Spago, is house-smoked salmon pizza.

Personal life

Wolfgang Puck married Marie France Trouillot in 1975. They were divorced in 1980.

He married Barbara Lazaroff in 1983, with whom he has two sons, Cameron and Byron. They were divorced in 2003. Barbara Lazaroff continues to play a key role in his restaurants and has been instrumental in their interior design. She is listed by the company as co-founder.

In 2007 he married designer Gelila Assefa in Capri, Italy. They currently live in Los Angeles and have two sons: Oliver and Alexander.

His favorite food is macarons.

Awards and honors

In 1985, Puck received a Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in a ceremony at Denver, Colorado, presented by Awards Council member Ray Charles.

In 1993, Spago Hollywood was inducted into the Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame. The next year it received the James Beard Restaurant of the Year Award. In 2002, Puck received the 2001–2002 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Service Show, Wolfgang Puck.

Spago Beverly Hills received a James Beard Foundation Outstanding Service Award in 2005. It was awarded two Michelin stars in the 2008 and 2009 Los Angeles Michelin Guide.

CUT Beverly Hills was awarded a Michelin star in 2007. In 2013, Puck was inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame. In July 2016, CUT at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore was awarded a Michelin Star.

On April 26, 2017, Puck received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his work in the TV industry, located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

On May 20, 2017, Puck was named the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) 2017 Gold Plate Winner.

Restaurants

• Spago, Puck's first restaurant opened on the Sunset Strip (1982) serving California cuisine but later relocated to Beverly Hills.
• Spago Istanbul by Wolfgang Puck at St. Regis Istanbul.
• Chinois on Main, Santa Monica, California (1983), Asian fusion.
• Postrio, San Francisco (1989), Mediterranean and Asian fusion.
• Spago, Beverly Hills (1997), known for serving California cuisine. Spago Beverly Hills, Spago Las Vegas, Spago Maui, Spago at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands resort, and Spago Beaver Creek.
• Postrio, Las Vegas.
• Trattoria del Lupo, Las Vegas.
• CUT by Wolfgang Puck at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown
• CUT in London, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and Singapore's Marina Bay Sands resort.
• CUT by Wolfgang Puck at The Address Downtown Dubai
• CUT by Wolfgang Puck at The Mondrian Doha
• CUT by Wolfgang Puck at Four Seasons Hotels Bahrain Bay
• Five-Sixty was located in Dallas and featured Asian-inspired New American cuisine. After 11 years, it closed in April 2020, felled by COVID-19.
• The Source, Washington, DC, modern interpretation of Asian cuisine located at the Newseum.
• Wolfgang Puck B&G (2009) in Los Angeles.
• Wolfgang Puck at Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort.
• Wolfgang Puck Catering at Museum of Science in Boston.
• Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria and Cucina, MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit
• Wolfgang Puck Steak, a signature restaurant of MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit.
• Wolfgang Puck American Grille, a signature restaurant located in the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.
• Springs Preserve Café, Las Vegas.
• WP24 by Wolfgang Puck located in The Ritz-Carlton in downtown Los Angeles, modern Chinese cuisine.
• Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria in Cucina, Las Vegas.
• Wolfgang Puck Bistro located in the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California.
• Wolfgang Puck Express:
  • JC Penney in Monroeville, Pennsylvania at Monroeville Mall.
  • Denver International Airport
  • Indianapolis International Airport
  • Logan International Airport, Boston
  • McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington
  • Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Terminal 1, Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario (closed)
  • Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL.
• Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill Summerlin, Las Vegas
• The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck:
  • Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • Calgary International Airport, Calgary, Alberta
  • Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport, Greenville, South Carolina
  • Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Washington-Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.
  • Changi International Airport, Singapore
  • Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
• Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles
• The Italian Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck
  • Terminal D, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Bibliography

• Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen (1980)
• The Wolfgang Puck Cookbook (1986)
• Adventures in the Kitchen with Wolfgang Puck (1991)
• Pizza, Pasta, and More (2000)
• Live, Love, Eat (2002)
• Wolfgang Puck Makes it Easy (2004)

Television and movie credits

Companies

Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are handled by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions: Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Catering, and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc.