Wolfgang Puck Location: Los Angeles Award-winning celebrity chef to the stars, Wolfgang Puck is world-famous for both his culinary excellence and business savvy. Over the course of five decades he has built a global empire that encompasses high-profile restaurants like Spago; an eponymous line of cookware, coffee, wine, and cookbooks; and event catering. Puck has made countless appearances on television and in films — from Good Morning America and The Simpsons to The Weatherman and The Muse — and hosted his own cooking show on the Food Network. Experience Austrian-born Wolfgang Puck trained under chef Raymond Thuilier at L'Oustau de Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence at Hôtel de Paris in Monaco and at Maxim's Paris before moving to the United States in the early 1970s. Still in his 20s, he opened his first restaurant, Ma Maison, an iconic Los Angeles celebrity hot spot. He opened his flagship restaurant Spago in 1982, which launched Puck into the national spotlight and became known for its signature smoked salmon pizza. He has published many cookbooks, including Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen (1980), Adventures in the Kitchen with Wolfgang Puck (1991), and Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy (2004). Puck's many honors include Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame, the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Service Award in 2005, induction into the Culinary Hall of Fame, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in the TV industry. About Food & Wine Food & Wine, a Dotdash Meredith Brand, is an award-winning online resource for anyone passionate about the culinary world. With rigorously tested recipes and the most trusted restaurant, drinks, culinary travel and home coverage, we inspire and empower people everywhere to discover, create, and devour the best in food and wine. Learn more about us and our editorial process.