Wolfgang Puck Cooks Up Something Sweet at American Wine and Food Festival

Famed Beverly Hills Courier columnist George Christy gives you an insider's peek into Hollywood's A-list parties and personalities.

This weekend celebrates the 27th year for the American Wine and Food Festival. Organized tirelessly and hosted through the years by Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff with their charitable foundation, the festival at the Universal Studios Back Lot, supports the Meals on Wheels program, which home-delivers hot food to the hungry and the homebound. From its humble beginning in 1982 at the parking space of the former Spago location on Horn Avenue in West Hollywood, the foundation’s raised multimillions. Chefs such as Nobu Matsuhisa participate, as do other local and national invitees, along with vintners, donors and sponsors.

If we could only partake of Wolfgang’s superman energy, and Barbara’s extraordinary talent of design and event planning! Undeniably the most famous chef in America, Wolfgang remains youthfully indefatigable, traveling weekly across country for his television shows, opening 17 upscale restaurants, along with 50 Wolfgang Puck Cafes and Expresses. Always jovially greeting and being photographed with the local and regular diners at Spago, Chinois (both designed by Barbara), and at his latest Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, which must not be missed by those visiting the Nokia LA LIVE downtown, where it’s located. A welcome addition with brother Klaus Puck as partner and manager, the restaurant is masterfully designed by Tony Chu, serving excellent food from chefs John Lechleidner and Dustin Lewandowski.

Last week, Wolfgang reminisced with us about his “ideal holiday” abroad. “Three weeks was perfect,” he says. “I’ve never done this before … it was time, I wanted to get away with the family. We went to Paris, then Austria where I was born, Barcelona and Capri, where Gelila and I were married on July 7, 2007 – that’s 7-7-7.”

FULL STORY: Click here to read George Christy's full column at the Beverly Hills Courier.