Synopses & Reviews
In his famous Los Angeles restaurants Spago and Chinois on Main, Wolfgang Puck has created some of the world's most imaginative dishes, combining French, Italian, and Oriental techniques. In this inspiring collection of over two hundred recipes, Wolfgang Puck shows you how to re-create these fabulous dishes in your own kitchen from readily available ingredients.
East fearlessly meets West, and many regions between -- in such first courses as Stirfried Scallop Salad and Spicy Honey-Glazed Baby Pork Ribs; in soups from Tortilla to delicate Cream of Corn with Gulf Oysters to hearty Clam and Mussel; in simple and sophisticated main dishes, such as Sizzling Catfish, Baby Pork Chops with Cranberry Sauce, and Chicken with Garlic and Parsley; in Spago's signature gourmet pizzas, such as Pizza with Smoked Salmon and Golden Caviar and Pizza with Shrimp and Sun-Dried Tomatoes; and in desserts that range from the subtle to the sublime, from the refreshing Grapefruit Tequila Sherbet to the decadent Jack Daniel's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
Every recipe, each a triumph of innovation, exemplifies Puck's unique style: a passion for blending the elements of cuisines the world over, a freshness and simplicity of ingredients and presentation, and, above all, a free and joyful approach to food. The guiding principle behind the creations that emerge from Puck's kitchens ("my playgrounds," he calls them) is that food should give great pleasure -- to the cook as well as to the diner.
Illustrated throughout with engaging drawings by Puck himself, here is an utterly original collection of great recipes -- and an utterly original culinary style -- that no cook will be able to resist adopting.
About the Author
Wolfgang Puck, who is known for his wit, unflagging energy, dedication to his craft, and decidedly puckish personality, often remarks how lucky he is to love so completely what other people refer to as a job. He has been happily devoted to his hobby of cooking since the age of fourteen, when he began his apprenticeship at the Park Hotel in Villach, Austria, while studying at the hotel school nearby. At seventeen, he ventured alone to Dijon, France, to accept a position at a small restaurant called Trois Faisans. Having discovered the Guide Michelin, Puck was determined to secure a position at a three-star restaurant -- a goal he accomplished at nineteen, when chef Raymond Thuilier granted him a trial period at his L'Ousteau de Baumaniere in Les Baux de Provence. After three years there, he moved on to La Reserve in Beaulieu, and then to the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo and Maxim's in Paris.
Puck emigrated to the United States in 1973, coming first to New York. After a year at La Tour in Indianapolis, he moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and became chef at Ma Maison. Within six years, his culinary talents had helped elevate the bistro to one of the finest French restaurants in the country.
In 1982, Puck realized a boyhood dream of owning his own restaurant when he and his wife, designer Barbara Lazaroff, transformed a rundown site above Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood into a now-famous phenomenon called Spago. Their second venture, Chinois on Main, opened in Santa Monica in 1983 and is acclaimed for Puck's uniquely inventive and interpretive Chinese-French cuisine set in Barbara's Felliniesque atmosphere. When he is not in the kitchen of one restaurant or other, Puck can be found consulting at restaurants across the country, visiting his twin Spago in Tokyo, or appearing on shows like Good Morning America.