For this interview, we meet celebrity chef and global entrepreneur Wolfgang Puck, and chats food, celebrities, life and business over afternoon tea at CUT at 45 Park Lane, Mayfair.
Wolfgang Puck is one of the world’s most successful chef-entrepreneurs. From his early start peeling vegetables at a local restaurant in Austria (his mother was a chef) to creating iconic LA restaurants Spago and Chinois, as well as over 100 restaurants worldwide, consumer products, a TV series and a syndicated column – the man is a phenomenon.
He is also the founder of Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Catering and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide. Widely recognised for his nurturing and encouragement of new chef talent (including CUT at 45 Park Lane’s Executive Chef David McIntyre), Wolfgang recently received the exceptional Cateys 2018 International Outstanding Achievement Award.
He opened his first flagship restaurant, Spago, in LA in 1982 and has been on the fast track to success ever since, catering for the Oscar’s Governor’s Ball for the last 24 years and only the second chef ever to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
I met the 69-year-old phenomenon in London recently for his Chinois on Main Pop-Up at CUT at 45 Park Lane. Marking the 35th birthday of his successful Santa Monica restaurant, Wolfgang brought his Asian Fusion cuisine to London.
We’re upstairs at BAR 45, a glamorous setting that has the largest selection of American wines in the UK, including Wolfgang’s own Wolfgang Puck-Schrader Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, Napa Valley, of which only 80 cases were made.
Wolfgang’s in his whites, looking fresh, relaxed and has the energy of a man half his age. I’m a little intimated – he’s my culinary idol.
“My group is arriving at 12,” he tells me over tea. “My fellow classmates from my Harvard business course. About three years ago, a journalist asked me if I had fulfilled all my dreams. And I told him I had always wanted to go to Harvard.
“Then a few days later, Harvard Business School calls me up and asks me when I want to start!”
Wolfgang joined the University’s part-time Owner President’s Management Program (OPM).
“I panicked at first,” he reveals. “I didn’t know how to use a computer. But it’s been brilliant – you stay and sleep in a dorm like being at boarding school,” he smiles. “As I’ve got my pop-up here at CUT, they are all coming for lunch – about 120 of them from all over the world. Next March is the last month of the course. Then we have a graduation ceremony.”
GB: What has he learnt from the Harvard experience so far?
WP: I’ve learnt how to look at the business from the outside more, and get input from different people on how to manage my company better. Also, how to give people a clearer vision of what I want. And how to structure the company more efficiently.
GB: Who’s your main right-hand man?
WP: Alex (Resnik) runs the restaurants, and he’s responsible for their performance. He’ll give me suggestions if anything needs tweaking. We always want positive sales growth, so we sit down and discuss what’s needed.
GB: Which is your best-performing restaurant?
WP: Number one is Spago in Singapore – that’s our best right now. It has a huge bar and lounge with 166 seats and an amazing location on top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Our second best is Spago in Beverley Hills. And the third is CUT in Las Vegas.
GB: Why is Chinois so popular?
WP: Chinois was the first fusion restaurant in Los Angeles – it gave people a taste of something completely different. In the beginning, I’d never cooked traditional Chinese food and never used a wok.
So, I built an island kitchen at the restaurant. On one side I had three Woks, on the other a wood-burning stove and six flames. So that meant if I couldn’t use a wok, I still had the flames!
GB: Did West Coast Asian influences inspire you to develop fusion cuisine?
WP: Totally! The West Coast has so many great Asian influences: we have China Town, Korea Town… I wanted to cook using local ingredients but with flavours from different cultures.
And express my take on Chinese rather than using traditional recipes. For example, instead of thickening a sauce with cornstarch, I use butter. And in certain situations, I use cream. I definitely didn’t want stir-fried beef – enough LA restaurants are doing this.
So I decided to make a New York steak, which Americans love, and then add an Asian-tasting sauce with it. I caramelised shallots with some chilli flakes, added some soy sauce, some mirin and stock, reduced it, then finished with a little butter.
It was a whole new flavour! What was also good was that we didn’t have the history. It would be hard to do that in Italy, for example, with such a rich tradition. Much more adventurous cooking has originated from the West Coast of America.
GB: Did you get bored with Spago?
WP: I opened Spago in West Hollywood, then another in Japan, and I remember being jetlagged in Japan seeing the same chairs, plates etc. and thinking I can’t continue to do this – bring out one after the other. I was always interested in Chinese food, so I decided to open my own Chinese restaurant.
We trained a little bit at Spago – I tried out a few things and did it my way. It worked and became hugely successful.
GB: Your restaurant expansion is incredible…
WP: Yes, it is, but it’s happened over a long period of time. We didn’t expand and explode in three years. We’ve also expanded in different areas: upscale dining, airport restaurants, appliances, and supermarket foods—all in different industry sectors.
GB: Where do you get your energy from? Do you work out?
WP: I have a personal trainer who comes two or three times a week when I’m in LA – and I have a gym in my house. And a tennis court too, so I play regularly. I think it’s important when you get to a certain age to keep on moving.
GB: Do you enjoy cooking at home? Or does your wife Gelila take over?
WP: Gelila (designer and creative director at Wolfgang Puck) is a very good cook too, and if you ask my kids who ‘makes’ the better pasta, they’ll tell you mum makes the best Bolognese sauce and the best lasagne.
GB: Have your sons followed you into the industry?
WP: One of my sons, Byron, has followed me into the business. He went to Cornell Management School, and I sent him to different restaurants to learn the trade. He trained at Guy Savoy in Paris and also at Nobu here in London when he was at high school. I wanted him to work somewhere where he would be inspired.
GB: Will Byron take over the reins of the company?
WP: Yes, that’s what I am hoping. If he takes over the company in, say, 10 years or so, it’s important that he’s a good cook. So he can tell the chefs his vision, what direction he’s taking.
GB: Do you follow modern trends in cooking?
WP: We create a blend of tradition and innovation. That’s what works. An example is our restaurant, The Rogue Experience, in West Hollywood. It’s a tiny restaurant with a kitchen on one side; the customers sit at the counter.
We do about 15 to 18 dishes. I’m very impatient, so they have to move fast. Six dishes an hour for this tasting menu. I have two chefs there. Then, I bring in chefs from different restaurants. So generally, four chefs are cooking for eight customers.
It’s an amazing dining experience! And the chefs cannot do anything that they do in their own restaurant. They have to be creative. David McIntyre (Executive Chef at CUT at 45 Park Lane) is very talented – he’s constantly reinventing.
Once many chefs reach the age of 40, they get into a pattern and don’t want to change. I want them to continue to create.
GB: Who has inspired you?
WP: I got inspired at the age of 19 when I worked at Baumanière Les Baux de Provence. I wanted to be like the former chef-patron Raymond Thuilier. He was in his 70s at the time and still so passionate about food; about the ingredients and cooking. And also about hospitality. Picasso ate there, and so did Queen Elizabeth; it was a Michelin 3-star.
GB: Why did you leave Europe for the States?
WP: I was working at Maxim’s in Paris, and everyone said to me: ‘You’re young. What are you going to do?’ My friend was the pastry chef there, and he told me I’d make much more money and have a better life in the States.
So when the opportunity came, I went. I was a big motor racing fan, so when somebody offered me a job in Indianapolis, I took it! At that time, the city was a complete culinary backwater. From there, I moved to California after I got my Green Card.
GB: We lost Tony Bourdain and Paul Bocuse this year. Did you know them?
WP: I was more friendly with Paul than with Tony. I did a TV show with Paul at his restaurant and at his country home. And he came to cook with us at Spago in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas; he was very generous and very sweet. And I’m good friends with his son Jérome.
Tony and I had a little disagreement about foie gras once. He was working at Les Halles in New York – way before he became famous. He chided me for caving into public demand and taking foie gras off the menu. I told him I didn’t want people demonstrating outside my restaurant. And that when he was running a successful restaurant himself, he’d be better qualified to give me advice!
GB: Is foie gras still off the menu in California?
WP: Yes, it is, but for the Chinois pop-up here in London, it’s on. Foie gras is still in demand, so we give the customers what they want. They love it. The pop up is very successful, it’s a good mix of old and modern. The signature dish is Chinois Lobster. People also love the sizzling fish, and the pineapple and foie gras.
GB: What are the qualities of a good leader?
WP: I think you have to really tell people your vision very clearly. Then, train them over the years, establish a culture, and hold people responsible.
For example, if David here at CUT at 45 Park Lane wants to change the fish, he doesn’t have to call me and ask me if he can change it. He’s been with me for 23 years. If he can’t do it alone, then he shouldn’t be working with me.
I want each restaurant to be independent. They can play with the menu to a certain point, but they have to have clear guidelines. I want them to own their creation. The individual chef in each restaurant knows much better than the head office what their customers want.
GB: Many of your staff have been with you for years…
WP: Yes, we have great continuity with our staff. I have two chefs – one in LA and the other in Vegas who have been with me for many years and oversee the openings.
They work with the local chefs who are ultimately responsible. They have autonomy.
GB: Do you still source locally?
WP: Yes, I love it. Even at home, I go to the local markets. Every Sunday in Beverly Hills, there’s a little farmer’s market in Santa Monica. I love the smells, and the same goes for the fish market. I tell my chefs it’s all about the ingredients. They must know the produce inside and out.
GB: Did growing up on a farm help you hone your nose for good produce?
WP: Yes, I was always close to the farmers. At Ma Maison in LA, where I used to work, I’d go to a farm south of the city, and I’d get the perfect ripe strawberries, the perfect green beans.
It was amazing. I learnt how to smell the produce. Just like where I grew up. When I was a boy, my mother went to the vegetable garden, picked 5 vegetables and made a soup.
GB: Was your mother a chef in your hometown? Did she inspire you to cook?
WP: Not my hometown, but nearby at a resort hotel on a lake. She totally inspired me to cook. When I was 12 or 13, I would work at the hotel and spend time in the kitchen with the pastry chef. I loved sweets, so it was perfect.
GB: Did your mother live to see your success?
WP: Yes, totally. And she was very proud of me. She was a quiet woman. My stepfather was another matter. Probably bipolar and very boisterous, but it wasn’t diagnosed in those days. He was crazy and used to drink a lot. Not good.
GB: There’s the story that you were fired from your job, and you went down to your local river to end it all?
WP: Yup that’s true, I tried to jump into the river. But then I had the thought to go back to work. Maybe my boss was having a bad day, and he’d let me stay. So I did. The apprentice hid me in the cellar, and I peeled all the vegetables.
A few weeks later, the chef came down and asked me why I was there when I had been fired. I told him I wasn’t leaving and stood my ground. And he let me stay. So I tell everyone now – never take no for an answer!
GB: So what’s next for you – personally and professionally?
WP: Right now, it’s exciting for me to see how Byron grows into the business. He’s cooking at Rogue now. He’s not yet an experienced chef, but he has a great imagination. And he’s not afraid to ask for advice from the other chefs.
He’s also great on TV – he’s appeared with me on the Shopping Channel, and he’s not fazed by celebrities. When I was his age, I was so shy. He’s very confident.
I’m trying to find a balance between my professional and my private life. We only live once and are here for such a short time, so I’ve decided to take next month off. Before, I used to take just 10 days’ vacation a year. Crazy. My wife is very happy about my decision.
GB: What do you do when you take a break? Can you ever switch off?
WP: You know I can compartmentalise everything really well. When I’m at work, I concentrate on work. When I’m at home with the children, I don’t have my phone with me. I don’t want to be interrupted. Even when I’m in a restaurant, I don’t answer it.
My wife and I play tennis; we love art and go to the local galleries. You have to have common interests with your partner. My wife loves fashion so I’ll take her to Paris for the shows. She sees it with a friend and I hang out with my friends in a café. Perfect!
Fashion is a bit like our industry – we both have to reinvent ourselves and be creative constantly.
GB: Is that the key to your fulfilment, creativity?
WP: Yes, and I always think I can do better. A perfectionist? I tell everyone that I’m easy-going as long as you do it the way that I want! Mostly, I give positive feedback to my staff. I just tell them how I want them to do it without being mean. It’s so much better. I reward them so they feel good about it. It’s not good to hammer on someone.
Life is energy. If you do something good, you get so much good energy back that it makes you feel good and not tired. It’s like putting gas in a car… and not running out.
So for me to be in the kitchen, and to be with my customers feeds my energy. I meet so many fascinating people, from Presidents to royalty to the Hollywood crowd.
GB: How do you compartmentalise it all? How do you stay calm?
WP: I sit and think. People think I’m daydreaming, but I’m often thinking about what to do next. How to improve business. It’s important not to sit still. This time next year, the world will be a very different place. Everything is changing so fast.
Who would have thought that everything we need is on our mobile phones? Each time I see a red phone booth in London, I take a photo. Look what’s replaced it!
GB: What do you think about the TV celebrity chef trend?
WP: Much of the shouting and buffoonery is an act. You’d get sued for harassment in the States if you did that. In 1982, at Spago, we had an open kitchen. So we had to be nice as our guests could hear everything.
The open kitchen is a good thing. Everyone has to look smart, shave and have good ingredients. And they have to cook it right as the customer can come up to the counter and tell you it’s not good! We are far more visible now.
I remember I cooked squab once for Lauren Bacall. She accosted me, saying you don’t know how to cook this bird. It’s still pink! And I told her, yes, that’s the way you should eat it. She loved us, but she was tough. She used to come to Chinois straight from the airport before she went to her hotel.
GB: Will you continue to open more restaurants?
WP: Yes, for sure. Hopefully another one in London, I like it here. My sons may go to school here, so I’ll be coming more often. We are opening another restaurant in Orlando in September this year.
Then another one by next March in DC. We have no plans to stop expanding. Some restaurants fall by the wayside; the leases expire. We try to move forward slowly. As long as I have the talent to work with me, we will continue to expand.
GB: Is it hard to find good chefs?
WP: We have a lot of cooking schools in the States, but it’s still difficult to find a good chef. The CIA (Culinary Institute of America) is in Napa Valley, and we also have Johnson & Wells, which is part of the university in Providence, RI. To find people who are passionate and people who want to work is not that easy.
GB: Does the younger generation of chefs want a different lifestyle?
WP: Yes, for sure. They don’t care so much about the money, but they want a lifestyle balance.
When we were young, we had to work as hard as possible to make money. We didn’t think about having a ‘lifestyle’. When I was 25 I knew I had to work two jobs so that one day I could open a restaurant. So I did. Now, people want free time and a better work-life balance.
This change of lifestyle also gives the partners of chefs the chance to do something, too. Not just look after the children. It used to be so one-sided for women it was like oppression. They had to stay at home and never had anything to show for it. Making your own money and being creative makes you feel good about yourself.
GB: What advice do you have for today’s young chefs?
WP: I think that today the way everything is going is so fast. Just be patient and learn while you work for someone else. Make your mistakes at someone else’s expense before breaking out on your own. Come and work at CUT at 45 Park Lane, and you’ll know what to do when you leave.
A lot of chefs forget the basics. They might be able to cook 10 dishes really well, but after a while, it gets boring. Or they want to be celebrities and appear on TV… Nobody wants to really put in the work anymore to get there. They want instant fame and instant riches.
I teach new chefs about hospitality. Cooking with food is one thing, but how you treat your guests is just as important. That’s why the dining room staff and the cooking staff must have a good relationship. If not, the customers will sense it. They must be as proud as the chefs to bring the food to our guests. And to make our guests feel good.
GB: You’ve cooked at the Governor’s Ball at the Oscars for the last 24 years…
WP: We love it. And we are so organised it runs like clockwork. It’s easy for me because I just decide what we’re gonna cook and how we’re gonna do it, and my team executes.
GB: Do celebrities usually want the same dish?
WP: Some want the classic chicken pot pie with black truffle – Barbra Streisand always asks for it. As do the older board members. We make our pizzas, our smoked salmon Oscars, our golden chocolate Oscars. We mix tradition with new ideas.
GB: Have you ever been starstruck?
WP: You know once you know them they’re just people. Some are excellent at what they do. Some aren’t. Some are nice. Some are not so nice. To me, money doesn’t make the man; man makes the money. Look at Federer… He’s a very charming, down-to-earth guy. He could be all pompous, but he’s not.
GB: What’s the key to success?
WP: If you love what you do and you’re not afraid to work, you can become successful. Hospitality is a tough job. I remember all those years ago when I started at Baumanière Les Baux de Provence, Tuillier was already 72 years old. He was so passionate about the hotel and the cuisine. He was a great mentor. I was 19, he was 72.
One of my Harvard professors, Boris Groysberg, told me that now I am older, I have to get younger men on board. The Harvard course has younger guys, too, so I can learn so much.
So, I ask my son what he would like to drink when he goes out. His group are in their early 20s… it’s very different. They don’t go out to eat one big meal.
They might go to a lounge for a cocktail. Then meet some friends at another place. Then maybe go to another place for a meal. Go home at 2 am and eat in three different places. It’s a new paradigm. They are future customers.
GB: Who have you met in your life that has had a lasting impression?
WP: One person from my Baumanière days. He was a famous actor and had just made a movie. He was so handsome, and he had a beautiful girlfriend. Now, he’s the Godfather of our children. His name is Sidney Poitier. When Obama became President, I told him: Sidney, you have to go and teach Obama how to speak.
He’s such a beautiful gracious man and a good friend. He actually asked me if he could be my son’s godfather. What an honour. He likes coconut sorbet so I often take him some. I was so lucky to be around at that time when Hollywood was a different place. I used to play tennis with Gene Kelly.
GB: Do you have plans to write your memoir?
WP: Well, I’m having a meeting in New York next week with Ruth Reichl, former editor-in-chief of Gourmet Food magazine. She knows me very well. I have so many stories! Somehow I wasn’t intimated by these stars and they trusted me. I was always discrete.
GB: How did you meet your wife Gelila?
WP: Gelila was a customer. I just chatted her up. I talk to everybody. As well as being the company’s designer and creative director, my wife helps a school in Ethiopia – she supports 800 children there and started with 20 children about 20 years ago.
The kids have grown up, and we went to their graduation ceremony. They are all such amazing children. It’s so important to give back. Especially when you have been given so much.
45 Park Lane – CUTcakes and Tea at 45 Park Lane
Dorchester Collection’s contemporary Mayfair hotel, 45 Park Lane, recently launched its ‘CUTcakes & Tea’, an American take on traditional English afternoon tea.
Featuring delicious American teatime favourites with a CUT twist, the menu includes savoury American bites such as Black Truffle Grilled Cheese, Tuna Tartar “sandwiches” and Wolfgang Puck’s Oscar-worthy Wagyu Beef Sliders.
A miniature Strawberry Milkshake introduces the sweet course, which features Cola Cake & Caramel Corn, “Cheeseburger” Macaroon, Peanut Butter & Jelly Twinkie and Graham Cracker S’mores. CUTcakes & Tea also incorporates Cakepops in three classic American flavours: Pink Lemonade, Cookies & Cream and New York Cheesecake.
‘CUTcakes & Tea’ also offers Iced Teas, American Craft Beers and special tea cocktails from the BAR 45 menu such as The Duke of Earl and Smoke and Mirrors. ‘CUTcakes & Tea’ is served Monday to Sunday at 2.30 and at 3.30 pm, priced from £55 per person.
45 Park Lane – Where and How
45 Park Ln, Mayfair, London W1K 1PN
Reservations: 020 7493 4545
dorchestercollection.com, bo
Dorchester Collection’s contemporary Mayfair hotel 45 Park Lane opened on 1st September 2011, just opposite The Dorchester with Wolfgang Puck’s first venture in Europe, CUT at 45 Park Lane.
Throughout the intimate-sized hotel, luxurious and contemporary interiors by New York-based designer Thierry Despont provide a club-like feel, offering international guests a smart, central environment from which to enjoy London.
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