Food, Home & Lifestyle
Wolfgang's Culinary Philosophy
Lesson time 13:02 min
Wolfgang breaks down the main tenets of his culinary philosophy. Sharing the lessons he's learned from his restaurants, Wolfgang shows you how to elevate your dining experiences at home.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Use and Enhance the Best Ingredients • Create a Memorable Dining Experience • Entertain on any Budget • Delight the Senses • Mix up the Party • Give Your Family an Adventure • Parting Words
Teaches Cooking
In 16 lessons, learn exclusive recipes and cooking techniques from the chef behind Spago and CUT.
Sign UpPreview
My culinary and philosophy was always very simple. And I tell that to all our chefs when they start with me. We buy the best ingredients, and then try not to fuck them up. So it's a simple [? work. ?] It is so simple, really. So we buy the best ingredients, and then we enhance them through cooking a little bit. But the most important thing is, the ingredients have to taste of what they are. If I had fish, I want it to taste like what fish it is, or if I eat soup, I want to taste the ingredients in it. I don't want to have so much cream and butter in there that you actually cannot taste the food anymore, you cannot taste the vegetable anymore. They are all diluted by a lot of fat. It's really about the passion of putting the ingredients together and using whatever is local. If my mother made a salad, she went in the garden. If she wanted to get raspberries, we went up in the forest in the summer and picked raspberries and blackberries. So they were always so delicious. I believe that food and what we put in our body is important for our health. And I always said, if we would have more chefs and more people cooking at home better, we would need less doctors, because eating all this junk food, all this crap out there, which is fried, which is processed-- I mean, how many times you go to the supermarket, everything has to be processed, everything is manipulated, everything is re-engineered. How much of us get fresh fruits, get fresh vegetables? Get when they're in season, when they are the best. To me, the seasonality is really important, and also, what makes it exciting, so that way, you don't do the same thing all year. [MUSIC PLAYING] What we try to do in our restaurant is create an experience and a memory for people, and hopefully a memory that lasts for a long, long time. So that way, people can't wait to come back. And at your home, it is exactly the same thing. You want to create a memory for the people and create a great experience. A lot of little things make up a big thing. You will have to make the guests feel at home. You have to make them feel really welcome, that you really want them there. That is, not that thing where you said, OK, now they're coming for dinner tonight, and I have to work so hard, and make them feel bad you have to spend all that time in the kitchen sweating. And here they are. I worked so hard all day. It has to be the opposite. You have to be excited about everybody coming to your party or to dinner or whatever it is. And you have to be excited about what you cook. If yourself you're not excited about it, how can you inspire anybody? And that's what I do in the restaurant. I have to inspire everybody, including our customers. And at home, you have to do the same thing. You have to tell them, I went to the market. I found this amazing fish, or these great fruits, and I made t...
About the Instructor
Legend has it Wolfgang Puck came up with his famous smoked salmon pizza when his restaurant ran out of bagels—and ended up changing the way America cooks. In his MasterClass, the five-time James Beard Award-winning chef behind more than 100 restaurants brings you into his kitchen. You’ll learn not only how to master starters, mains, sides, and cocktails, but also how to take risks to create memorable recipes of your own.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Wolfgang Puck
In 16 lessons, learn exclusive recipes and cooking techniques from the chef behind Spago and CUT.
Explore the Class