Background and career
Wolfgang Johannes Puck (né Topfschnig; born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian and American chef and restaurateur.
Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, 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.
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. 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. One of Wolfgang Puck's signature dishes at his original restaurant, Spago, is house-smoked salmon pizza.
Puck was married to interior designer Barbara Lazaroff from 1983 to 2003 and they have two sons, Cameron and Byron. Puck became a U.S. citizen in 1999. In 2007 Puck wed his third wife, Gelila Assefa, a model and designer from Ethiopia and they have two sons, Oliver and Alexander. In late 2023, Puck became a grandfather when Cameron's son Maxwell was born.
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. 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.
Spago, Puck's first restaurant opened on the Sunset Strip (1982) serving California cuisine but later relocated to Beverly Hills. There are five other Spago locations including Las Vegas, Budapest, Istanbul, Maui, and Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Caramá located at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. CUT in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, London, New York City, Washington D.C., Bahrain, and at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Chinois on Main in Santa Monica, California. The Marketplace by Wolfgang Puck, El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá, Colombia III by Wolfgang Puck in Houston, Texas. Merois in West Hollywood, California Wolfgang Puck Kitchen in Shanghai and The Villages, Florida Wolfgang Puck's Kitchen Counter in Cancún International Airport Wolfgang Puck Kitchen + Bar in Kempegowda International Airport, Terminal 2. The Kitchen and The Kitchen Counter by Wolfgang Puck in Grand Rapids, Michigan Wolfgang Puck Kitchen + Bar at Vienna International Airport in Austria
