Wolfgang Puck

He married Marie France Trouillot in 1975, and the couple divorced in 1980.

He married interior designer Barbara Lazaroff in 1983 after a much publicized romance. The couple had two children, and Barbara played a tremendous role in shaping his career. The couple collaborated with each other and opened a chain of restaurants which were very successful and established Wolfgang as a very popular chef. The marriage, however, came to an end in 2003 when he became involved in an affair with Gelila Assefa.

He married his longtime girlfriend and mother of two of his sons, Gelila Assefa, in 2007.

He was born as Wolfgang Johann Topfschnig in Austria on 8 July 1949 to a butcher father and a restaurant chef mother. His biological father left his mother shortly before Wolfgang was born, leaving her alone to raise the child.

His mother Maria later married a coal-miner called Josef Puck who adopted Wolfgang and gave him his name. Maria gave birth to two girls and a boy, providing Wolfgang with three younger siblings.

He became interested in cooking from a young age, observing his mother at work. He started cooking when he was a child and realized that he wanted to become a professional chef.

His father, however, did not approve of his son’s career choice and wanted him to take up some other profession. Thus for a while Wolfgang worked at a construction site but left the job soon to focus on his culinary career.

He did not attend any culinary school, but instead opted to train as an apprentice. His first experience as an apprentice at a hotel was anything but positive, but this did not discourage him and he moved to train at another hotel.

He moved to France where he was able to work in some of the finest restaurants including Maxim's in Paris, the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, and the Michelin 3-starred L'Oustau de Baumanière in Provence. His experiences at these restaurants helped him develop his culinary skills greatly.

He decided to move to the US to explore newer avenues. His first job in US was at the restaurant La Tour in Indianapolis, where he worked from 1973 to 1975 before moving to Los Angeles. His career saw an upsurge and soon he found himself the part owner of Ma Maison in West Hollywood.

Ma Maison was frequented by the rich and the famous and he made a name for himself as a sophisticated gourmet chef. His deep understanding of the Californian cuisine and his excellent culinary skills made the restaurant very popular.

The success he received so far motivated him to start his own restaurant. In 1982, he opened his own restaurant Spago on the West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip. The restaurant was a success from the very first day, and his innovative dishes like haute cuisine pizzas, Sonoma baby lamb, and Roast beef established him as a gourmet chef.

Over the next few years he opened other restaurants including Chinois on Main in Santa Monica in 1983 and Postrio, in the Prescott Hotel off San Francisco's Union Square in 1989.

In 2002, his Food Network television program ‘Wolfgang Puck’ received Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Service Show. The very next year, the program received Emmy for Best Direction for Service Show

His restaurant Spago in Beverly Hills received a James Beard Foundation Outstanding Service Award in 2005. The Los Angeles Michelin Guide awarded the restaurant two Michelin stars in 2008 and 2009.

He was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by James Beard Foundation in 2012.

In 2013, Puck was inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame.