Wolfgang Puck, the Austrian chef who basically invented gourmet pizza, has been catering the official Oscars party for years. Not only does he have his Academy Award soiree, he's also catering the Grammys and the Super Bowl. We checked in to see how Puck, 61, is prepping for the season.
Have you been sleeping much lately?
No. It's OK, we'll sleep when we are dead, a long time.
How many people are you cooking for at the Super Bowl?
We have a party for 3,500 for the NFL and another one for 800. It's going to be a wild weekend.
What are you making?
Some people are having buffets and some sit-down dinners. So some are having filet with sautéed spinach or a porterhouse steak with mushrooms. We have sides like mac and cheese and a crab salad.
Is it going to be more meat and potatoes?
It's a very man-oriented party for the Super Bowl, so it's more of a steakhouse atmosphere.
What are you serving for the Grammys?
We will set up huge buffets with different kinds of food. Comfort food like meatloaf and fried chicken. We also have Italian- and Asian-style buffets; plus we pass our pizzas around. We used to make chocolate records and Grammy statues.
You should do a chocolate iPod.
Good idea!
What are you making for the Oscars?
I haven't decided what we are going to make yet. Last year we had a black truffle chicken pot pie. We poached chickens, made a stock and a sauce with black truffles. It was great; people loved it. We could serve it hot. They cut into the puff pastry, and they said, "Wow, this is really amazing, and it's steaming hot."
Is that the hardest thing to do when you're serving that many people, keeping the food hot?
Exactly. We heat up the plates really high. That way when we put hot food on it, by the time it gets to the person, it's still hot.
If someone wants to host a Super Bowl party what would you recommend they serve?
I would make a buffet table -- a great meatloaf, slice it and have a mushroom sauce with it. Mac and cheese, which is really easy to do, a romaine salad, maybe some roasted vegetables. If you have the money it's easy to make roasted pork or beef rack, which you can slice. Also mashed potatoes are always easy to do.
What about an Oscar party?
You should make it more festive. Some wonderful champagne cocktails, finger food like potato with caviar, little bilinis with smoked salmon, make it a little more luxurious. For dessert, you can have a warm chocolate cake or a crumble or fruit cobbler with apples and pears and cranberries. You can serve it hot with vanilla ice cream.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Macaroons and chocolate truffles, but it has to be really good chocolate. It has to be really dark chocolate with a lot of flavor, and the macaroons, the same. I love Francois Payard's macaroons.
Do you hang out with fellow Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger?
No, he is busy, I am busy. I get together with very few people because I am always in the restaurant.
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