5 BRILLIANT BUSINESS LESSONS FROM WOLFGANG PUCK
THE CELEBRITY CHEF AND MASTER MARKETER REVEALS HOW HE CULTIVATES HIS BRAND.
In the three decades since Wolfgang Puck opened Spago in West Hollywood, the groundbreaking gourmet has parlayed his food-world stardom into one successful venture after another: packaged foods in grocery stores, a burgeoning line of kitchen appliances, and more than 100 fine dining and express restaurants in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Quality food, it turns out, is only part of Puck’s recipe for building an epicurean empire. Below he reveals the ingredients he has used to spice up his career.
COOK UP SOMETHING NEW
Ever since he moved to the U.S. in the 1970s, Puck has embraced innovation. Spago, which he opened in 1982, launched a new style of California cuisine; Chinois on Main, which Puck debuted the following year, pioneered Asian fusion cooking. Puck is now continuing his legacy of firsts in the housewares department: His company recently developed and patented the world’s first pressure oven--part pressure cooker, part countertop oven. “Whenever you have a new innovation, that’s what really makes the big difference,” Puck says. “When George Foreman came out with his grill, it made him a household name. I think products like our food processor or the oven do the same thing.” But don’t get too licensing-happy, he cautions--that can water down your image. “Lots of chefs put their names on products from other companies. We develop our own appliances and pots and pans. My partners Sydney Silverman and Mike Sanseverino and I work on each appliance and go back and forth until it’s right. You have to be very careful with your brand; you can’t just sell anything and say, ‘Okay, I’ll put my name on it and make some money.’”
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