Wolfgang Puck is a famous Austrian restaurateur, chef, and businessman who can sometimes be seen on television as a cooking show host. The beginning of his culinary career was in France, where he was able to work in some of the finest restaurants, including Maxim’s in Paris, the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, and the Michelin 3-starred L’Oustau de Baumanière in Provence (Wolfgang Puck). His experiences at these restaurants helped him significantly develop his culinary skills.
Puck decided to move to the US to explore newer avenues. His first job in the US was at the restaurant La Tour in Indianapolis, where he worked from 1973 to 1975 before moving to Los Angeles (Wolfgang Puck). His career saw an upsurge, and soon he found himself the part-owner of Ma Maison in West Hollywood (Wolfgang Puck). Ma Maison was frequented by the rich and the famous, and he made a name for himself as a sophisticated gourmet chef. His deep understanding of Californian cuisine and his excellent culinary skills made the restaurant very popular.
The success he received so far motivated him to start his restaurant. In 1982, he opened his own restaurant Spago on the West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip (Wolfgang Puck). The restaurant was a success from the very first day, and his innovative dishes like haute cuisine pizzas, Sonoma baby lamb, and Roast beef established him as a gourmet chef. Over the next few years, he opened other restaurants, including Chinois on Main in Santa Monica in 1983 and Postrio, in the Prescott Hotel off San Francisco’s Union Square in 1989 (Wolfgang Puck). Eventually, Puck founded the Wolfgang Puck Companies, which includes the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Catering, and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc (About – Wolfgang Puck). Today, his company encompasses several fine dining restaurants and premium catering services and sells kitchen and food merchandise, including cookbooks and canned foods.
Puck had the first glimpse of his future profession in early childhood when he saw his mother cook dishes at home. His interest in culinary art began with his mother’s dishes. His mother periodically worked as a pastry chef and cultivated her son’s love for cooking. Learning Austrian and then French kitchen helped Puck see how different ingredients and dishes could be combined, which later became the basis for his success. Wolfgang Puck became famous in the culinary world after he published his first book, in which he talked about French cuisine adapted to American conditions.
His dishes’ innovative character helped him become the leader in his field since the unusual taste of his dishes attracted people. New combinations of ingredients appealed to gourmets and, as his fame spread, his dishes became the classics of cooking. Today, his dishes are an original combination of recipes from various cuisines of the world: Asia, France, and California.
Puck’s leading position in the cooking field is based on his financial success. At the moment, the maestro earns more than $ 16 million a year and, according to Forbes, is one of the hundred wealthiest people in the world (Wolfgang Puck). The venerable chef writes in newspapers, participates in various culinary programs, and opens new restaurants in the USA, Japan, and Canada. His restaurants are renowned for a wide variety of dishes, among which every visitor can find exactly what he likes.