Wolfgang Puck is one of the most famous chefs living in America today. Puck was born in Austria to a mother who was a chef for a hotel. He was undoubtedly influenced by her profession, and he began his formal training at the age of fourteen. He was an apprentice in the famous Provencal region of France, and then later worked for several three-star restaurants in Europe, including Monaco's Hotel de Paris, and Maxim's of Paris.
A friend encouraged Wolfgang to come to the States in 1973. It proved a very wise decision: not very long afterwards, he was an instant success at the Los Angeles based restaurant Ma Maison. He was not only a chef there, but also a partial owner. A short time later, he published his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen. It was after this that Wolfgang decided to leave Ma Maison to establish his own wildly successful restaurant at none other than Sunset Boulevard in 1982. The new restaurant was called Spago. Wolfgang's wife and partner, Barbara Lazaroff, came up with the idea of having an open kitchen at Spago. The informal but stylish design of the restaurant keeps Hollywood's top stars coming back. The restaurant also keeps contemporary art on display, and has had work by Andy Warhol on its walls. Spago has earned several awards during the past fifteen years, including the coveted Restaurant of the Year Award, which is given by the James Beard Foundation. Wolfgang's signature gourmet pizza has always been popular fare at his establishments.
In 1983, Wolfgang opened Chinois on Main in Santa Monica, California. Once again his designer wife had a hit, this time turning to exotic Asian influences for the decor. The cuisine at this restaurant was to be decidedly elaborate in nature, and with an Oriental flavor.
Six years later, Wolfgang and Barbara opened Postrio in the San Francisco Bay area. Two of his former students, Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal, who also happen to be brothers, now run the menu at the successful restaurant.
Wolfgang and his wife opened yet another establishment in 1991, called Granita. This restaurant had a Mediterannean-inspired menu. During this year he also published another cookbook, Adventures in the Kitchen with Wolfgang Puck. The chef also has a new line of his gourmet pizzas for sale in frozen form at larger stores. The Puck family donates money and time to such causes as Meals on Wheels and the American Cancer Society. Wolfgang Puck and his wife have two children and live in southern California.
