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Wolfgang Puck American Grille
Chef Wolfgang Puck
With a name that carries an undeniable cachet, synonymous with bold, innovative cooking and an unmistakable panache and passion that redefined dining in America, Wolfgang Puck (Spago, Postrio, Chinois and Trattoria del Lupo) represents the ultimate in the culinary arts and restaurant hospitality. The California culinary icon made his first move to the East Coast in the summer of 2006 when he opened Wolfgang Puck American Grille at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City. The restaurant showcases Puck’s signature cuisine in a luxurious setting designed by Tony Chi of tonychi and associates. Wolfgang Puck American Grille offers contemporary American cuisine in two distinctive dining areas ranging from casual and relaxed to elegant and upscale. Guests enter the restaurant upon an elevated terrace “patio” inside the casino, creating a great place to people-watch and enjoy a casual bite. The more formal main dining room features a magnificent bar and small exhibition kitchen featuring Puck’s signature pizza oven.
Puck has changed the way Americans cook and eat by mixing formal French techniques with Asian and Californian influences. He has changed the face of dining in cities throughout the nation, first in Los Angeles and more recently in Las Vegas, where he was the first star chef to create a contemporary fine dining restaurant. Puck’s name is synonymous with the gastronomic empire of fine dining restaurants he built over a span of twenty years, including 12 fine dining restaurants in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Palo Alto and Maui and 51 casual dining and quick service restaurants in nationwide urban centers, airports and supermarkets. Puck also began an extensive catering and events business, which garners international attention through its annual Governors Ball following the Academy Awards®.
The Austrian-born Puck began his formal training at age 14, and learned classical French technique in several three-star Paris restaurants. Puck made the move to Los Angeles in 1975, and became both chef and part owner of Ma Maison, which quickly became a magnet for the rich and famous, with Puck the starring attraction.
In 1982, Spago opened in West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip and was an instant success and culinary phenomenon. Over its popular eighteen years, the original location of Spago earned many accolades, including the prestigious Restaurant of the Year award from the James Beard Foundation in 1994. Following the success of Spago, Chinois on Main opened in 1983 in Santa Monica. Wolfgang's third restaurant and concept, Postrio, located in the Prescott Hotel off San Francisco's Union Square, opened in 1989. After more than 19 years, Postrio continues to draw rave reviews from the San Francisco Examiner and Gourmet magazine. Granita, located in Malibu, opened in 1991, inspired by the colors and flavors of the Mediterranean, and mixing Wolfgang’s interpretive classics from the south of France and Italy using local California ingredients. Also in 1991, Wolfgang was presented with the James Beard Foundation’s award for Outstanding Chef.
Spago Las Vegas launched in 1992 at the Forum Shops at Caesars. Together with Executive Chef David Robins, Puck transformed the culinary scene and pioneered fine dining in the desert city. The pair went on to open Chinois Las Vegas in 1998 inside the Forum Shops at Caesars, then Postrio in the Venetian Hotel. Trattoria del Lupo, opened at the Mandalay Bay Resort in 1999 and Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill opened in 2004 at the MGM Grand.
In 1997, Spago Beverly Hills opened amidst one of the most celebrated and exclusive retail areas in the world. Other Spago restaurants followed: Spago Tokyo in 1992, and Spago Palo Alto in 1997. Spago Beverly Hills was named Best Restaurant by Food & Wine magazine. With the opening of Spago at the Four Seasons Resort Maui in 2001, the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group moved into a unique partnership with the world’s premier hotel group, The Four Seasons.
In 1993, Puck entered the casual dining arena with the opening of the Wolfgang Puck Cafes, a full-service casual dining concept. In 1994, the new Cafes garnered the Hot Concept award from Nation’s Restaurant News, and in 1997, the Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe in Orlando, Florida opened, located within Downtown Disney World. Casual dining further evolved into Wolfgang Puck Express, a “quick-casual” concept offering sophisticated fare with informal service, which has become one of the fastest growing segments of the restaurant industry.
Wolfgang Puck Catering (WPC), formed in May 1998, and moved to its permanent home in the new Hollywood & Highland® entertainment complex in November 2001. It is the residence to the Academy Awards® annual Governors Ball, where Puck has been honored as official Chef for the post-awards celebrity banquet.
Puck has developed numerous retail products and cookbooks. In 1995, he created a partnership with WP Productions, Inc. for the manufacture and marketing of cookware and other cooking-related consumer products. Puck is the author of Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen; The Wolfgang Puck Cookbook; Pizza, Pasta and More!; Adventures in the Kitchen with Wolfgang Puck; Live, Love, Eat! The Best of Wolfgang Puck; Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy. Puck also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column, “Wolfgang Puck’s Kitchen,” published by Tribune Media Services. The column is seen in 18 publications throughout the United States and Canada with a circulation of over 1.5 million readers.
In May 2000, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. (WPW) was established to manage global brand strategy across Wolfgang Puck’s business activities in consumer packaged foods, cooking products, media content, and additional licensing and product opportunities planned as part of the Wolfgang Puck global expansion. Also that year, WPW announced a global partnership with ConAgra, the nation’s second largest food company.
In conjunction with Food Network and Weller/Grossman Productions, Puck developed his own television show, Wolfgang Puck, which began airing in January 2001, and was awarded a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Service Show. The series Wolfgang Puck’s Cooking Class, debuted in fall 2003 up-close cooking lessons that capture the experience of a private kitchen master class. Puck has also appeared on a multitude of television shows including The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Entertainment Tonight, E! Entertainment Television, Hollywood Squares, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Frasier, The Simpsons, The History Channel, Wheel of Fortune and What’s My Line. In 2001, the A&E Network featured the life of Wolfgang Puck on their popular Biography series. He also appears regularly on ABC’s Good Morning America.
In addition to the many humanitarian awards, including Humanitarian of the Year from The James Beard Foundation in 1994, Puck was proud to receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI in 1998.