"Wolfgang Puck" news and stories

Master chef Wolfgang Puck (of Spago and CUT), who's already been chosen to cook for 16 Governors Balls (the official Academy Awards after-party), is revving up to prepare the 17th feast this Sunday night after the 83rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony. With more than 1,500 Oscar winners, nominees, presenters, and other guests eating your food, a chef just might get a little edgy. Slashfood chatted with Chef Puck to find out what he, partner chef Matt Bencivenga, pastry chef Sherry Yard, and their staff of 300 have up their sleeves for the glitterati, what makes the perfect Oscars party, and what makes for a kitchen disaster or two. Puck even reveals a surprise move that may shock Spago fans.

Slashfood: What's one of your favorite dishes from last year? And what are you excited about this year? We hear the menu packs a lot of Latin flavors.
Wolfgang Puck: We make something different every year. (Except Sherry Yard's gold-dusted desserts -- everyone goes home with an Oscar.) Last year we prepared Black Truffle Chicken Pot Pie -- we assembled the dish at night, and in the morning and we baked it perfectly hot for all of the guests. This year my tribute to The King's Speech is the entrée of Pan-Roasted Dover Sole with Fennel, Olives, Haricots Vert, Tomatoes, Lemon, Sherry, and Olive Oil. We're flying in 1,600 Dover Sole for the dinner.

What about the "Black Swan Paella?"
We have a Vegetable Risotto "Paellla" with Saffron, White Wine, Chile, and Parsley -- it has great flavors, and it's easy for Natalie Portman to eat since she is vegetarian.

On Monday we kicked off our 12 days of chef-inspired gift giving. Stay tuned every morning from now through December 24th for ideas from the pros on the best gifts for cooks. And see the links at the bottom of the post to catch up.

Chef: Wolfgang Puck

Restaurants: WP24, Spago and CUT (Los Angeles, CA); Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group

The Gift: One of my favorite gifts to give is Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide by Robert M. Parker, Jr. He is an outstanding wine authority and I like this book because it inspires me. It makes a great gift because people can see the relationship between the wine and the food and it also educates them about all the wonderful varieties out there.

Where to Find It: Available at most bookstores and online.

Wolfgang Puck is about to take on Europe with his first restaurant on the continent, a Cut steakhouse opening in April or May in London's Mayfair section. Puck's fourth Cut (joining others in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and Singapore) will be an 80-seat restaurant located on the ground floor of the Dorchester Group's newest luxury hotel 45 Park Lane, opening in 2011.

And the menu? "It's going to have more seafood," Puck told Slashfood. "The seafood is really great over there. And in the winter we'll have game birds -- grouse, woodcock, and all that stuff."

Puck's company is managing the new Cut. "It's easier for everyone that way," he said. The hotel fronts the capital, but doesn't have to run the business. "It's better for them," the Austrian-born chef said. "These hotels are not great at running restaurants. We are." (Among the Dorchester Group's properties are the Bel-Air, in L.A., The New York Palace, and Paris hotels Le Meurice and Plaza Athénée, as well as London's The Dorchester).

Puck, who has lived in Los Angeles since 1975, was in New York this week to promote a new line of canned soups and stocks, half of which are gluten free and organic. From Vegas to tinned soups to pheasant under glass . . . welcome to Wolfgang's World.

Unfortunate lack of judgment or just a simple request for customers to play by the rules? In a recent Lone Star dress-code kerfuffle, a hostess at Dallas's Five SIxty, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant located at the top of Reunion Tower, turned away six World War II veterans for violating the "business casual" dress code. The veterans -- who were in their 80s and 90s -- were wearing unit baseball caps, POW T-shirts and shorts. "We weren't dressed like hoboes," 93-year-old Jay Coberly told the Dallas Morning News. "We were just dressed comfortably."

Fathers Day is this weekend so we asked some chef dads how they like to spend the special day. Turns out they like the same thing as most regular, non-chef dads: hanging with the kids and eating a favorite meal. Wouldn't it be nice if families got to do that every Sunday?

Wolfgang Puck, chef/owner multiple restaurants nationwide (Spago and Chinois among them); has four sons: Cameron, 21; Bryon, 15; Oliver, 5; Alexander, 3.

What's your dream Father's Day menu?
WP: I would love to wake up have my wife prepare me her special Ethiopian coffee with a few flaky pain au chocolat, and about an hour later have a baked potato with caviar and a bottle of Krug Champagne with a raspberry soufflé to finish it off.

Do you take the day off or do you cook?
WP: I take the day off. Since my kids are very small, they bring me presents in the morning. My wife brings the coffee and the kids bring the croissants.

Did your dad influence your desire to become a chef?
WP: My father did not influence me. On the contrary, he wanted me to be a carpenter or mechanic or a mason, or any other "useful" profession. All my cooking was influenced by my mom -- my dad thought cooking was for women; not a profession for a man.

More interviews after the jump.