Wolfgang Puck: About the Award-Winning Chef

Born in Austria, Wolfgang Puck is a James Beard Foundation Award–winning restaurateur and one of the world’s most successful chefs. After studying in Europe, Wolfgang moved to Los Angeles in his twenties, where he became the chef and part owner of Ma Maison in Los Angeles, California. From there, Wolfgang published his first cookbook and opened his first restaurant, Spago, to wide acclaim.

Starting on the Sunset Strip in 1982, Spago relocated fifteen years later to Beverly Hills. Wolfgang has helped popularize California nouvelle, a modern form of California cuisine, which Wolfgang would expand upon in his subsequent ventures by adding a European flair to California staples.

Wolfgang is one of the world’s most famous chefs, with restaurants in Santa Monica, California; TriBeCa, New York; Singapore, and beyond. Learn more about the restaurant entrepreneur with these five fast facts:

1. 1. He started cooking at an early age. Wolfgang showed an interest in cooking from a young age. His mother was a pastry chef, and he would bake with her in the kitchen before he trained in Paris.
2. 2. He’s a James Beard Foundation Award winner. His restaurants have won James Beard Foundation Awards, one of the food industry’s highest honors. Spago Hollywood won the James Beard Restaurant of the Year Award in 1994, and Spago Beverly Hills won an award for Outstanding Service in 2005.
3. 3. His restaurants have won multiple Michelin stars. Spago Beverly Hills received two Michelin stars; the steakhouse CUT by Wolfgang Puck in Beverly Hills has received one; the Singapore CUT location has also received one.
4. 4. He’s appeared as himself on many TV programs. Wolfgang won a Daytime Emmy Award for his cooking show Wolfgang Puck. The celebrity chef has appeared as a judge on competitive cooking shows and acted as himself on various shows, including The Simpsons, Who’s the Boss?, Frasier, and The Smurfs film.
5. 5. He has a star. In 2017, Wolfgang got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Wolfgang’s classes offer a wide range of cooking techniques and styles. You can expect these five highlights and more from his class on cooking, available exclusively on MasterClass:

1. 1. In cooking and business, take risks. Wolfgang discusses the moments in his career when he ventured into new territories: “Before I opened Spago in Las Vegas, there was no really good, well-known restaurant in Vegas. When we opened there, it was a risk,” he says. “In the first few weeks, I thought it was the biggest mistake I ever made. We opened at the beginning of December when every show was closed. . . Three weeks later was New Year's. It got busy. And now, it’s been busy ever since. For 20 years, the restaurant has been packed. Now, I think you have more restaurants in Las Vegas from famous chefs than in any other city. But we were there first.”
2. 2. Learn how to impress guests. Wolfgang breaks down his seafood gazpacho recipe into smaller steps so cooks of all skill levels can follow to create a dish that’s sure to impress.
3. 3. Master the mother sauces. “There are a lot of different sauces out there which you use for many different things. We call them mother sauces,” Wolfgang shares. One such sauce is the béchamel, which you can use in dishes like creamed spinach and macaroni and cheese. This base sauce is made from milk and a white roux, and the timing of its heating and cooking is crucial to its execution, which Wolfgang explains.
4. 4. Understand the diversity of your palate. Our tongues offer an expansive field for tasting unique flavors; understanding how to combine ingredients to bring out these sensations can make for a complex, exciting meal. “Our palate really can recognize five different flavors,” Wolfgang says. “First one is salt, then there is sweet, then sour, then spicy, and bitter…And you have the umami flavor, which really makes everything more rounded, more complex.”
5. 5. Wolfgang makes more than just five-star meals. Wolfgang is known for his signature dishes, but he also creates craft cocktails, such as his Berry Margarita recipe. Learn how to make this fruity cocktail that’s perfect for brunch.

To learn more cooking techniques and recipes, consider taking the following classes:

1. 1. Dominique Crenn on modern vegetarian cooking: Dominique Crenn is one of the most celebrated chefs in the world, known for her three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Atelier Crenn. Watch Dominique’s class and download the corresponding Class Guide to learn about sustainable ingredients and various vegetable preparation methods.
2. 2. Gordon Ramsay on cooking. Gordon Ramsay is a Michelin-star chef with restaurants worldwide. Watch Gordon’s class to learn about essential kitchen tools and knife skills, plus how to make pasta dough and scrambled eggs.
3. 3. Yotam Ottolenghi on Middle Eastern cooking. Yotam Ottolenghi is a celebrated chef, bestselling cookbook author, and restaurateur. Watch Yotam’s class to learn about Middle Eastern ingredients and how to make various recipes, including muhammara, smoky marinated feta, and green herb shakshuka.

After developing your palate and mastering your kitchen skills, learning about the culinary industry's business side is essential. Discover Wolfgang Puck’s approach to seasoning food, preparing sauces, opening a restaurant, and more when you sign up for the MasterClass Annual Membership.