Hungry for More
Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck dishes on good food, his success and inspiring the next generation.
Wolfgang Puck’s name is synonymous with amazing food. He is perhaps the first celebrity chef and earned his stripes long before the culinary world experienced the explosion of the past decade. Since opening his first restaurant in 1982, Puck has gone on to build a culinary empire with restaurants all across the world from New York and Los Angeles to Istanbul and Singapore. And he’s no stranger to Orlando either, having been one of the first notable chefs to open up shop in Central Florida two decades ago at what is now Disney Springs.
These days Puck can be seen on countless television shows and networks, and he continues to elevate his brand to new heights. His face adorns everything from soup cans in the supermarket to cookware in Bed Bath & Beyond. His restaurant clientele ranges from A-list celebrities to well-heeled diners who appreciate high-end ingredients prepared skillfully and without pretention.
We had the chance to speak with Puck about the longevity he’s achieved in his career, why he encourages his cooks to push boundaries, and why he’s not in a rush to spend the day at Disney World again anytime soon.
ORLANDO FAMILY MAGAZINE: When you got started in cooking, did you ever envision that you would become such a household name?
WOFLGANG PUCK: No, especially coming from where I grew up in Austria. It was a village with 50 people. We didn’t have a street name; only 11 buildings with numbers on them.
OFM: Is that where you fell in love with cooking?
WP: My mother was a professional chef in the summertime at a resort on the lake, and I would go [to work with her] in the summer when there was no school. During the day, I was picking up tennis balls to make a little cash; it was a lot of fun. Little by little I started to work at night and help the pastry chef to make desserts, and I got good. I was making baked Alaskans at 13 years old.
OFM: What do you think of the new generation of chefs? Are they more interested in the celebrity or the food?
WP: You have both. You have people who work in great restaurants who really learn the craft, and then you have some who open a restaurant right away before they learn how to cook properly. It takes patience to learn your craft; you have to train hard. Michael Jordan spent more time shooting the ball than anyone on the [Chicago] Bulls because he wanted to be the best on the court. Cooking is the same thing. When you don’t work in really good restaurants and get a good base, then you open up, it becomes a big thing for a year and then it fades away.
OFM: Is there an overriding thing you try to instill in young chefs that they may not understand so early on in their career?
WP: I explain to them there are no shortcuts; you have to learn through repetition to get better. I play tennis, and 20 years ago, I used to get so frustrated with my tennis coach. I would say, “I don’t get any better, and I still make stupid mistakes.” My coach said: “Look at your life. You play two hours of tennis with me, and you spend 14 hours a day in the kitchen. Which one do you think you are better at?”
OFM: What makes for the ideal fine dining experience in your mind?
WP: It doesn’t have to be fussy. I want to go to a restaurant where you have great food and great hospitality. You have to make it so people feel good about making a choice. You have to read the customers. To me, the hospitality is just as important to the food. I tell my people in all my restaurants that more and more we have to upgrade the hospitality and be the best at it. It doesn’t cost anything. If I buy truffles, they are $1,000 a pound, but it’s free to smile at the guests.
OFM: What has been the biggest challenge of your career thus far?
WP: I think the biggest challenge is to get enough good people [working under you]. The other thing is the new regulations, especially in California; it’s very difficult to do business. They almost want you to not to do business. The restaurant industry is one of the biggest industries in labor because we can’t automate it.
OFM: I wanted to ask you about your restaurant at Disney Springs. Did you devise the multi-concept location to cater to both the tourism crowd as well as the locals?
WP: Disney World is a different world basically [laughs]. It’s not reality. First of all you have millions of people come every year, and they all have to eat. I went with my sister’s kids to Disney World last year. I was standing in line all day long; going on rides … I was exhausted. I would much rather spend 12 hours in the kitchen. So, if you go for dinner, you want a good glass of wine and maybe some good fish, but you have to have things for the kids; good pastas and pizzas. The last thing you want after spending all day in the sun is go to a restaurant that is not good for kids and grownups. Of all the Disney properties, we have the most local clientele, for sure.
OFM: Not only are you successful in the kitchen, but you are a fixture on television as well. What do you love about doing shows like Top Chef and so on?
WP: I think it’s OK because it’s the younger people who watch that, and they love the competition. I do it a little bit [TV work] to stay in the picture.
OFM: People who watch Top Chef root for personalities, but they don’t actually taste the food like you do. So, how is the food typically?
WP: There are certain things that are very good, and some of the things fail completely. Someone makes one good dish, but the next one is terrible. It’s like there are two different people in the kitchen.
OFM: Great chefs teach others, and sometimes those folks leave their kitchens to make their own mark in the culinary world. I’m sure you’ve had many cooks go on to bigger things. In what ways is that rewarding for you?
WP: A lot of people, chefs or other [business] people, they get upset if people leave and take another job. They treat them badly; they don’t want to talk to them anymore. Anyone who leaves me on good terms and opens their restaurant, I’m the first one to support them. A lot of people are insecure. I think the opposite. If I train them for 10 years and they leave and are successful, it looks good on me.
OFM: With so many restaurants in so many places, how difficult is it for you to be in the kitchen, and is that still important for you?
WP: I actually started a restaurant that is a test kitchen [in L.A.]. It only has 10 seats, and we will open it in April. I don’t want to cook for 250 people anymore; that’s not a job for me. That’s like telling Phil Jackson to go on the court and play basketball. He can teach [players] to shoot, or how to play, but he’s a coach. My role is being a mentor and an inspiration and having the vision.
OFM: When you sit down for a meal, is there a particular experience you are seeking?
WP: For me it’s the whole experience, whereas when I was younger, I dissected everything. Why did they do this? Why did they do that? If I get really good service and the food is good, I try to enjoy my company and the evening. I’m less of a critic now. Because if I dissect things, it’s not fun. You should have a good time; it’s not like going to temple or going to church where you have to be quiet and listen to someone else. That’s why I don’t like some of these modernist restaurants where they tell me to eat this way or eat that way. I’m not here for that.
This article originally appeared in Orlando Family Magazine’s February 2017 issue.