Wolfgang Puck, famed chef and owner of such restaurants as Spago, Chinois, and Vert, has announced that he will now only be using eggs and meats that are produced by animals that have been raised under strict humane standards. This includes ceasing to serve fois gras, the fattened liver of ducks and geese, in his restaurants. According to one source, Puck will now only purchase eggs from chickens that were not confined to small cages, and will only use seafood that was harvested in such a way that it "doesn't endanger the environment or deplete stocks." In addition, his veal, pork, and poultry purchases are to come from suppliers that have adopted higher animal welfare standards and don't confine their animals.
We saw a glimpse of this change already as Puck planned an "Oscar goes organic" cocktail party for the Governer's Ball after this year's Academy Awards, and he plans to adopt these new methods into his restaurants, frozen pizza, and canned soup lines.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-22-2007 @ 1:24PM
Dmnkly said...
Bravo.
A business owner making both a personal ethical choice and responding to his customers' wishes, without government getting involved.
This is EXACTLY how these issues should be handled.
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3-22-2007 @ 1:50PM
Joanne Lutynec said...
I couldn't agree more, Dmnkly.
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3-22-2007 @ 2:52PM
Heather said...
Awesome! I wish more restaurants would do this.
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3-23-2007 @ 2:47AM
Marumm said...
Bear in mind that he did make this decision after 3 years of protests outside his restaurants, and waves of legislation sweeping across the country. It seems a little disingenuous to label him the crown prince of animal welfare because he saw which way the wind was blowing.
That said, it's a step in the right direction, and as a vegetarian I'm happy to see he's going to be offering a few more items directed at me. I might actually find occasion to make it in to one of his restaurants now.
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3-23-2007 @ 10:25AM
SLW said...
I am pleased with his decision however he arrived at it. It took him three years, but it could have taken three decades.
http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com
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3-24-2007 @ 1:27AM
Megan said...
" In addition, his veal, pork, and poultry purchases are to come from suppliers that have adopted higher animal welfare standards and don't confine their animals."
If someone could enlighten me: how does
one produce tender veal if the
calf isn't confined ? [serious question]
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3-25-2007 @ 8:22PM
Steve said...
Megan, check out Azuluna veal: http://azulunabrands.com/index_files/Page568.htm
This is a new brand being developed by the Tufts veterinary school (full disclosure: I am a Tufts vet student) which has a goal of establishing humane methods of raising farm animals which represent an alternative source of revenue for (primarily) New England farmers.
There are also a couple of veal producers who have the Certified Humane label: http://www.certifiedhumane.org/producer-links.html
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4-23-2007 @ 4:43AM
Min Liu said...
For more direction on how Wolfgang Puck and his right hand man, Tom Kaplan, run the restaurant business for the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, check out this interview of Tom Kaplan by two Stanford business school students for iinnovate:
http://iinnovate.blogspot.com/2007/04/tom-kaplan-senior-managing-partner-of.html
Perhaps it might provide some background on why he's adopting these new policies.
Min, on behalf of the iinnovate team.
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