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Wolfgang Puck | |
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 Puck in 2012 | |
| Born | Wolfgang Topfschnig July 8, 1949 Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria |
| Spouses | Marie France Trouillot (m. 1975;div. 1980)Gelila Assefa (m. 2007) |
| Children | 4 |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | California, French, and fusion |
Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur.
Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. [1] He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. [2] [3] He took the surname of his stepfather, Josef Puck, after his mother's remarriage. [4] The marriage produced two younger sisters and a younger brother for Wolfgang.[ citation needed ]
Puck 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 then-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."
In 1991, Puck opened his fourth restaurant, Granita, a seafood restaurant in Malibu, California. [5] The restaurant closed in 2005. [6]
Since 2003, Puck's recipes have been syndicated worldwide to newspapers and websites by Tribune Content Agency. [7]
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. [8]
One of Wolfgang Puck's signature dishes at his original restaurant, Spago, is house-smoked salmon pizza. [9]
Puck married Barbara Lazaroff in 1983, with whom he has two sons, Cameron and Byron. [10] They were divorced in 2003. Barbara Lazaroff co-founded the Wolfgang Puck restaurants and continues to play a key role in the business. She has been instrumental in their interior design. [11]
Puck became a U.S. citizen in 1999. [12] His favorite food is macarons. [13]
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. [14]
In 1993, Spago Hollywood was inducted into the Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame. [15] 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. [16]
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. [17]
CUT Beverly Hills was awarded a Michelin star in 2007. In 2013, Puck was inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame. [18] In July 2016, CUT at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore was awarded a Michelin Star. [19]
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. [20] [21]
On May 20, 2017, Puck was named the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) 2017 Gold Plate Winner. [22]
In June 2022, Puck was recognized by the International Hospitality Institute on the Global 100 in Hospitality, as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality. [23]
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Family Feud | Himself | Episodes: "All-Star Family Feud Special", "2nd Battle of the Perfect 10's: Bert's Beauties vs. Betty's Bruisers", "Gordon's Glories vs. Gloria's Go-Getters" |
| 1987 | Who's the Boss? | Himself | Episode: "A Fishy Tale" |
| 1992 | Tales from the Crypt | Himself | Episode: "Werewolf Concerto" |
| 1999 | The Muse | Himself | |
| 2000–02 | Frasier | Himself/Tom | Episodes: "The Proposal", "Mary Christmas" |
| 2002 | The Simpsons | Guest Star | Episode: "The Bart Wants What It Wants" |
| 2004 | Iron Chef America | Himself | |
| 2005 | The Weather Man | Himself | |
| 2005 | AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes | Himself | |
| 2006 | Las Vegas | Himself | Episodes: "Meatball Montecito", "Father of the Bride", "Lyle & Substance", "The Bitch Is Back", "Pros and Cons" |
| 2006 | Celebrity Cooking Showdown | Reality Cast Member | |
| 2008 | The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | Himself | Episode: December 26, 2008; Kristen Bell, Wolfgang Puck |
| 2009 | Top Chef: Las Vegas | Guest Judge | |
| 2009 | The Jay Leno Show | Himself | Episode: Jaywalking |
| 2011 | Top Chef: New York | Guest Judge | |
| 2011 | The Smurfs | Chef Smurf | |
| 2011 | Keeping Up with the Kardashians | Himself | Chef to Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphries' Wedding |
| 2011 | The Next Food Network Star | Guest Judge | |
| 2011–14 | Hell's Kitchen | Guest Judge | |
| 2013 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Himself | Episode: "Last Supper" |
| 2016 | MasterChef | Guest Judge | |
| 2020 | The Chef Show | Himself | |
| 2021 | Wolfgang | Himself | Documentary |
| 2021 | Beat Bobby Flay | Himself (Guest Judge/Competitor) | Cooking Competition |
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. [18]
Giada Pamela De Laurentiis is an Italian American chef, entrepreneur, writer, and television personality. She was the host of Food Network's program called Giada at Home. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC's program entitled Today. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering business GDL Foods. She is a winner of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Host and the Gracie Award for Best Television Host. She was also recognized by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the Global 100 in Hospitality, a list featuring the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality.
Spago is Wolfgang Puck's flagship restaurant worldwide, known for serving California cuisine. Spago is Puck's first restaurant venture.
Thomas Patrick Colicchio is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, which includes Craft, Temple Court (NYC), Craftsteak and Small Batch restaurants. Colicchio is the recipient of five James Beard Foundation Awards for cooking accomplishments.
California-style pizza is a style of pizza that combines New York and Italian thin crust with toppings from the California cuisine cooking style. Its invention is generally attributed to chef Ed LaDou, and Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California. Wolfgang Puck, after meeting LaDou, popularized the style of pizza in the rest of the country. It is served in many California cuisine restaurants. California Pizza Kitchen, Round Table Pizza, Extreme Pizza, and Sammy's Woodfired Pizza are four major pizza franchises associated with California-style pizza.
Michael Mina is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He is the founder of the Mina Group, a restaurant management company operating over 40 restaurants worldwide. He is the executive chef at his two namesake restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas, which each have earned a star in the Michelin Guide. He authored his first cookbook in 2006 and has made numerous television appearances.
Nancy Silverton is an American chef, baker, restaurateur, and author. The winner of the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Chef Award in 2014, Silverton is recognized for her role in popularizing sourdough and artisan breads in the United States.
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon is the name of French gourmet restaurants, located worldwide, created by chef Joël Robuchon and now managed by JR International. The restaurants serve French haute cuisine in a stylized environment. Many of the seats are arranged to overlook the meal preparation in the kitchen. L'Atelier translates to "workshop," and the term atelier is commonly used to refer to the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts.
David Myers is an American chef, television personality, and restaurateur. Myers is based in Los Angeles, but works in his restaurants in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai.
Edward M. LaDou, III was an American pizza chef, who is credited with popularizing gourmet California-style pizzas. Ed LaDou was the first pizza chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago restaurant in Los Angeles. He also developed the first menu for the American chain restaurant California Pizza Kitchen.
Stephen Francis Jones is an American architect best known for his high-end restaurant designs and for being the owner of SFJones Architects, Inc.
Victor Drai is a Franco-American nightclub owner, entrepreneur and film producer. Drai rose to prominence in the 1980s, producing the movies The Woman in Red (1984) and Weekend at Bernie's (1989), before leaving the industry to open a string of high-profile restaurants and nightclubs.
The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills is a gourmet foods store in Beverly Hills, California, known for its selection of 500-600 cheeses. It also stocks wines and other delicacies, including the rarest of all caviars, Golden Imperial Osetra, and is often featured in publications such as Bon Appétit and Entrepreneur magazine, as a notable epicurean source. The store claims to carry “the largest assortment of goat’s and sheep’s milk cheeses found anywhere”. The store's former owner, Norbert Wabnig, has become a noted Los Angeles personality.
Brent Bolthouse is an American entrepreneur, event producer, DJ, actor, and photographer. He has appeared on MTV's The Hills.
The Shops at Crystals is an upscale shopping mall in the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) mall contains high-end retailers, gourmet restaurants, and art galleries. The exterior design was created by Daniel Libeskind, while David Rockwell worked on interiors. For its environmentally friendly design, Crystals received LEED Gold Core & Shell certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the largest retail district in the world to achieve such a feat.
Rochelle Huppin is an American chef, restaurateur and small business owner with projects based in Chicago, Illinois, and Culver City, California. After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in 1987, Huppin founded Chefwear, Inc, a company that provides culinary apparel to the hospitality industry, in 1990
William Guidara is an American restaurateur based in New York City. Along with chef Daniel Humm, Guidara co-owned the Make It Nice hospitality group, established in 2011, which owns and operates Eleven Madison Park, NoMad New York, NoMad Los Angeles, NoMad Las Vegas, NoMad Bar and Made Nice.
Barbara Ellen Lazaroff is an American interior designer and restaurateur, and the co-founder of the Wolfgang Puck brand. She has been involved with several women's business and leadership organizations.
Sherry Yard is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author.
Mei Lin is a Chinese-born American chef and television personality, best known as the winner of the twelfth season of the Bravo television network's reality television series, Top Chef. After winning Top Chef in 2014, Lin worked as a personal chef for Oprah Winfrey before going on to open her first restaurant, Nightshade in Los Angeles in 2019. She became engaged to her fiancé Andrew Skala on January 14, 2023. On April 9, 2023, Lin won the fourth season of Food Network's Tournament of Champions.
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