Valuetainment - Episode 288： Wolfgang Puck - From Chef to $100 Million Entrepreneur

00:00:00.860 30 seconds, one time for the underdog, ignition sequence start, let me see you put em up, reach

00:00:09.220 the sky, turn the stars up above, cause it's one time for the underdog, one time for the

00:00:16.220 underdog.

00:00:17.280 I'm Patrick Bedevi, host of Aletame, and today I sit down with Wolfgang Puck, yes, the one

00:00:21.300 and only Wolfgang Puck that went from being a chef to an entrepreneur, to building a hundred

00:00:26.140 million dollar empire, to running one of the most popular restaurants in all of the world,

00:00:31.180 Spago, out of Beverly Hills, and the things we covered today, it's interesting when he

00:00:35.360 was coming up, how he almost took his life and all of a sudden took a complete different

00:00:39.480 angle and went from no one knowing who Wolfgang Puck is, to all of a sudden everybody around

00:00:44.140 the world knowing that name, Wolfgang Puck.

00:00:46.240 It's very rare when you find somebody in the restaurant world as a chef, you know, there's

00:00:50.360 a lot of chefs out there who are very creative, but it's tough for them to make that transition

00:00:55.120 from being a chef, who do very well in the kitchen, to go and open up a restaurant that

00:01:00.060 lasts for 36 years, for as long as his has, and then become an entrepreneur, and become

00:01:05.980 one of the top five wealthiest chefs around the world, one and only Wolfgang Puck.

00:01:09.840 Sir, thank you for your time.

00:01:11.040 Thank you for having me, indeed a pleasure.

00:01:14.560 Wealthiest, I don't know.

00:01:16.240 I saw you on a list, it said top five, I said, you know what, cause I saw one time you

00:01:19.900 said, when you were a chef back in France, and you said you would watch these people on

00:01:25.020 America, use the word Chevrolet in Cadillac, and he said, I want to be rich one day, and

00:01:29.640 you know, you come to America, and you have your story, so.

00:01:31.600 And now I drive a Cadillac, see, and Escalade, yeah.

00:01:34.800 You drive a Escalade, okay, that's cool.

00:01:36.580 So, what I want to do is, before we go into what you've done, obviously Spago, if you're

00:01:40.920 in LA, I think in LA there's three two-star Michelin two-stars, right, yours is one of them

00:01:45.960 Spago, 2012, well, when you were awarded, before they, you did your renovation, and if you're

00:01:50.860 in LA, everybody wants to go to Spago, this is like a main spot, so.

00:01:53.660 It's an institution, Spago has become a worldwide institution, people know it, if you go to

00:01:59.360 England, or Australia, or you know about Spago.

00:02:02.720 So, before we get into Spago, Cut, Wolfgang Puck, The Express, some of the things they've

00:02:06.420 been doing at HSN, let's go back and kind of hear the story of how you got started, you

00:02:11.020 know, like, if I wasn't, say I was in high school with you, we're 16 years old, you and

00:02:15.100 I are good friends, we're classmates, who was Wolfgang Puck?

00:02:17.480 Well, Wolfgang Puck never went to high school, never went to high school, never went to

00:02:21.940 high school, I started out, my mother was a professional chef too, in the summertime, so

00:02:27.540 when I was 12, 13 years old, I always spent the summer, the vacation with my mother at this

00:02:33.600 resort hotel, I remember she had a small room, the hotel provided the lodging, and then she

00:02:39.500 had them built the bunk bed, so I slept up on top, and she had the bed underneath, and my stepfather

00:02:45.300 was working in the mines and everything, so I spent there, I spent time cooking, and helping

00:02:51.680 the pastry chef, helping my mom a little bit, and then when I was 14, I left school.

00:02:56.060 Fully?

00:02:56.980 14, yeah.

00:02:57.980 Left school?

00:02:58.980 Fully, totally.

00:02:59.980 Your mom was okay with that?

00:03:00.980 Oh, she had no choice, because I just said, this is what it's going to be.

00:03:05.680 I started to cook professionally too, an apprenticeship in Fila in Austria, I worked there for three

00:03:12.980 years, then I moved to France, stayed seven years in France, and then I moved to the United

00:03:18.700 States, first to Indianapolis a year, and then I came here to Los Angeles, and I'm here since

00:03:25.240 1975.

00:03:26.240 What was your personality like at 14, like, if we're friends, what was Wolfgang Puck like

00:03:31.620 at 14?

00:03:32.620 I was certainly rebellious, I hated my stepfather, so I said, I can't wait, so when I was 14,

00:03:39.860 not only I skipped school, I skipped my parents' home, I left their home and moved 50 miles

00:03:44.600 away.

00:03:45.600 At 14?

00:03:46.600 At 14, and I said, I have young kids too, so I'm sinking off there, I said, my son

00:03:49.900 going to be 14 next year, I said, I don't think I would let him move out, but I just moved

00:03:55.280 out, and my mother basically said, you know what, in life, you have to make more money

00:03:59.560 than you spend, and you will be all right.

00:04:01.420 And that's your mom, so you listened to your mom's listen?

00:04:03.600 My mom was an angel, and my stepfather was a devil, basically, if you would say, he was 0.99

00:04:09.000 totally crazy.

00:04:10.000 I think at that time in the countryside, I grew up in the countryside, you know, they didn't

00:04:14.800 diagnose people, he was totally bipolar, so he could be really nice, but then he would

00:04:20.680 go off, and he used to have a drinking problem, and, I mean, he was violent, and got into fights, 0.84

00:04:26.920 I mean, he was crazy.

00:04:28.180 And you avoided him, you tried to avoid him as much as possible.

00:04:30.180 As much as possible, so when I was 14, I left my home, when I was 17, I left the country,

00:04:36.520 I moved to France.

00:04:37.520 You know, a lot of times you sit down with somebody, I don't know if you know Steve Aoki,

00:04:40.140 the DJ, his mom.

00:04:41.140 I know him very well.

00:04:42.140 You know, similar story to yours, his mom was very supportive, loving, you can do everything,

00:04:47.380 but his dad was, you know, founding Benihana, never around, to him it said, in life, business

00:04:52.120 is first, then comes, you know, family.

00:04:54.380 Yeah.

00:04:55.380 Do you think as a boy coming up, you notice a trend where someone in the family had to

00:05:02.420 be a little bit challenging you, pushing you, like difficult in your life, for you to have

00:05:06.260 that kind of an ambition to want to go out and prove a point, you think there's a little

00:05:09.140 bit of that?

00:05:10.140 Well, I don't know if it is part of it too, where if you have a really comfortable life

00:05:17.140 when you're young, and everything is prepared for you, you're sent to the right school, you

00:05:22.520 have the right, you have your own room at home, and you have everything, maybe there's less

00:05:28.780 challenges, maybe there's less motivation, and maybe you don't achieve.

00:05:33.540 So sometimes I ask myself now, I said, maybe, not to say it was a good thing the way my stepfather

00:05:40.120 left, but maybe he motivated me more, because I remember when I went to France, and one day

00:05:45.120 I told him, I won't come home until I get a Mercedes and I'm going to come and drive it

00:05:50.120 into your living room, through the wall.

00:05:52.500 You're telling this to your stepdad?

00:05:53.500 I told my stepdad, and then, you know what happened, years and years later, he came here

00:05:59.500 with my mother, so I had to be nice to him because of my mother.

00:06:04.500 So they stayed together? 0.85

00:06:05.500 They stayed together, she should have shot him, would have been a good deed maybe, I told 0.91

00:06:11.500 you many times, but then, you know, I said, what am I going to do, I cannot ignore my mother,

00:06:16.500 we only have one mother, so I sent them on cruises, and every year they came here, went 0.97

00:06:21.500 on a cruise to South America, to the Caribbean, everywhere really they were in.

00:06:26.500 So, for me, it was really special to really treat my mother really right, but he came

00:06:31.500 along for the ride.

00:06:32.500 Is he still around or no?

00:06:33.500 No.

00:06:34.500 So, did your last moments with him, was it good, or was it you still to the very end,

00:06:38.500 you were not too fond of him?

00:06:40.500 You know, I wasn't too fond of him, the way I speak, I am obviously not too fond of him

00:06:45.500 now, because I really think, when you live your life, you cannot really go on and just

00:06:51.500 forgive.

00:06:52.500 You know, I forgave to a point, where I said, okay, I tolerate him, but I don't going to

00:06:59.500 say, I want to be friends or love him.

00:07:01.500 So, almost like I'll forgive, but I won't forget what happens.

00:07:04.500 Exactly.

00:07:05.500 So, I also heard somewhere you said, you were working at a restaurant, and the head

00:07:11.500 chef, or somebody said, you'll never amount to anything, or something like that.

00:07:14.500 Exactly.

00:07:15.500 You had your stepdad, but you also had another person that said in the world.

00:07:18.500 Exactly.

00:07:19.500 So, when I was 14, I left my home.

00:07:22.500 Okay.

00:07:23.500 I remember it was like, on the fall day, it was raining, and cloudy, and you know, foggy

00:07:29.500 all over, and I took the train to the town.

00:07:32.500 And my father, my stepfather, when I left, he said, he always told me I was good for

00:07:37.500 nothing.

00:07:38.500 So, when I left, he said, you're good for nothing, in three weeks you're going to be

00:07:42.500 back home, and ask me for money, and he went on and on.

00:07:45.500 And I just went, and I remember my grandmother took me to the train station, which was about

00:07:50.500 an hour walk.

00:07:51.500 We didn't have a car or anything.

00:07:53.500 So, I went there, and then started to work, obviously, in this hotel in Villach.

00:07:59.500 And then, maybe a month into it or so, and the chef was crazy, a little bit there, too

00:08:05.500 drunk. 0.59

00:08:06.500 You know, in the old time, the chefs used to drink a lot, and he was like this bully guy.

00:08:10.500 On a Sunday, we ran out of potatoes.

00:08:12.500 So, no more mashed potatoes, no more potatoes with parsley, which was a big thing in Austria.

00:08:17.500 And then, they blamed it on me.

00:08:19.500 I was this 14-year-old kid, not even five foot tall.

00:08:22.500 And then, the chef, after lunch, he called me over, and says, you know, you should go

00:08:26.500 back home to your mother. 0.99

00:08:27.500 You're too young to do that.

00:08:29.500 You're too little.

00:08:30.500 Your mother should breastfeed you for another year. 1.00

00:08:32.500 Maybe you grow up. 1.00

00:08:33.500 Like, he was crazy.

00:08:34.500 And then, he said, okay, you're out. 0.79

00:08:37.500 You're gone.

00:08:38.500 You know, we fire you.

00:08:39.500 And it was probably one of my worst days.

00:08:41.500 So, I didn't know what to do.

00:08:43.500 It was, like, Sunday evening.

00:08:45.500 We had a big river going through the town.

00:08:48.500 I went on the bridge where the train goes over. 0.62

00:08:50.500 So, it was a high bridge, and I said, I'm going to kill myself.

00:08:53.500 I'm going to jump into the water, and I'm not going home, for sure.

00:08:56.500 So, I stood there, and stood there, like, for maybe an hour.

00:08:59.500 What are I going to do?

00:09:00.500 How am I going to jump?

00:09:01.500 And what will happen after?

00:09:02.500 I was thinking, do I going to go to hell or to heaven?

00:09:05.500 And, you know, what is it?

00:09:06.500 All these thoughts are going through my mind.

00:09:08.500 And how are you 14?

00:09:09.500 14.

00:09:10.500 At 14, you're thinking about taking your life.

00:09:12.500 Yeah.

00:09:13.500 And then, finally, and now I was so into it, I said, okay, you know what?

00:09:17.500 I'm just going to go back tomorrow and see what happened.

00:09:19.500 So, I went off the bridge, went home, couldn't sleep all night, obviously.

00:09:23.500 Went early in the morning, like at 7, to the hotel restaurant.

00:09:28.500 And then, the apprentice, who was ahead of me, saw me coming back, and he was so happy.

00:09:33.500 He said, oh, you're back.

00:09:34.500 And I said, thank God.

00:09:35.500 So, I don't have to peel potatoes and do all that thing for another six months.

00:09:38.500 And then, he took me and took me down into the vegetable cellar.

00:09:42.500 And I was sitting on a crate down there, peeling potatoes and carrots and onions and all that stuff.

00:09:49.500 Bought me little sandwiches down.

00:09:51.500 So, after about three weeks into that, the chef came down and sees me there.

00:09:55.500 And he said, what are you doing here?

00:09:57.500 Screaming at me.

00:09:58.500 You're fired.

00:09:59.500 Why are you still here?

00:10:00.500 And this and that.

00:10:01.500 And get out of here.

00:10:02.500 And I said, I'm not leaving.

00:10:03.500 You told him you're not leaving?

00:10:04.500 Yeah.

00:10:05.500 He grabbed me and says, get out of here.

00:10:07.500 I put my heels in.

00:10:08.500 I said, I'm not leaving.

00:10:10.500 I was this little guy and he was this big bully.

00:10:13.500 Finally, he didn't know what to do.

00:10:14.500 So, he called the manager and the owner.

00:10:17.500 And they came down.

00:10:18.500 And he told them, you know, I don't know what to do with him.

00:10:20.500 He is too little. 1.00

00:10:21.500 He is stupid. 1.00

00:10:22.500 He doesn't know how to do that. 1.00

00:10:23.500 He is too young.

00:10:24.500 Every word possible to make me feel bad and negative.

00:10:28.500 And then, the owner was a little nicer.

00:10:30.500 He said, okay, you know what?

00:10:32.500 We'll send you to our other hotel.

00:10:34.500 They had another small hotel in town.

00:10:36.500 And maybe over there, it will be better for you.

00:10:38.500 So, I said, okay.

00:10:39.500 So, they sent me to the other hotel.

00:10:41.500 Over there, they had the lady who was a chef. 1.00

00:10:43.500 And she said, oh, just be nice.

00:10:45.500 Do what we tell you to do.

00:10:47.500 And don't make any waves.

00:10:48.500 Just do your job.

00:10:49.500 And everything will be fine.

00:10:51.500 And so, it was good.

00:10:53.500 And then, I started.

00:10:54.500 Everything was good.

00:10:55.500 Every year, we went for three months to school.

00:10:59.500 We as who?

00:11:00.500 We as...

00:11:01.500 All the kids.

00:11:02.500 All the apprentices.

00:11:03.500 Not all together.

00:11:04.500 So, they had this apprenticeship program where you went for three years.

00:11:10.500 And part of it, you had to go to the school to learn, you know, more theoretical stuff.

00:11:16.500 And also cooking, the principle of cooking a little bit.

00:11:19.500 So, every week, we had like three or four afternoons cooking.

00:11:22.500 In the morning, you know, we got the little English lessons, math lessons, bookkeeping lessons, and so forth.

00:11:28.500 So, when I came back then, for the first three months, we always had to go to the owner and show him...

00:11:34.500 Everybody had to...

00:11:35.500 All the kids had to do that.

00:11:36.500 And show him the report card.

00:11:38.500 And I had straight A's.

00:11:39.500 So, the owner said, oh, my God.

00:11:41.500 It's the first time somebody has straight A's.

00:11:44.500 And he was a very smart guy.

00:11:46.500 He was actually a lawyer by trade.

00:11:48.500 Then, each time when he walked into the kitchen, he asked for the chef or said hello to the chef and said, where is Wolfgang?

00:11:55.500 So, all of a sudden, I became like an important kid in the kitchen.

00:11:58.500 And the other kids were almost jealous of me.

00:12:00.500 They said, why is he only asking for him?

00:12:02.500 Was that the first time where you had somebody that believed in you?

00:12:04.500 Yeah.

00:12:05.500 Because I know your mom is supportive.

00:12:06.500 Yeah, my mom was very supportive.

00:12:08.500 And somebody doesn't tell me I'm good for nothing, you know.

00:12:11.500 So, all of a sudden, my esteem went better.

00:12:13.500 That's great.

00:12:14.500 You're what?

00:12:15.500 You're 15, 16 at that time?

00:12:16.500 15, yeah.

00:12:17.500 15.

00:12:18.500 So, why didn't you jump?

00:12:19.500 You know, looking back, you know, I just...

00:12:21.500 All of a sudden, it came to my mind.

00:12:22.500 I said, maybe he gonna change his mind.

00:12:24.500 Maybe he was drunk.

00:12:27.500 Maybe, you know, maybe he gonna say, oh, he wants to come back.

00:12:31.500 Okay, I'll try one more time.

00:12:32.500 Maybe let's give him one more try.

00:12:34.500 So, all these things, all these different scenarios went through my head when I looked down in the dark.

00:12:39.500 You know, it was like looking down a big dark hole with the river with the ice blocks going down and everything, so...

00:12:46.500 Yeah, there's a video that went viral.

00:12:48.500 They interviewed the 100 people that jumped off of Bay Bridge who they committed suicide.

00:12:55.500 So, there's 2,000 people that jumped off.

00:12:57.500 Everybody died except for 100.

00:12:58.500 100 made it.

00:12:59.500 Some number like that.

00:13:00.500 And they interviewed them.

00:13:01.500 Okay, what happened after you jumped?

00:13:02.500 And every one of them said, from the moment we let go, there was a regret.

00:13:06.500 So, it's amazing how you're saying it because there's a lot of conversation right now about suicide going around the world.

00:13:11.500 Well, you know, I think millions of people around the world are glad you didn't because our appetite is very happy with you.

00:13:17.500 You know what I'm saying?

00:13:18.500 I'm happy too.

00:13:19.500 I'm happy too.

00:13:20.500 Yeah.

00:13:21.500 So, the fact that you did that.

00:13:22.500 Okay, from there you went.

00:13:23.500 So, you kind of are going through class.

00:13:25.500 You're getting straight A's.

00:13:26.500 The man who's an attorney, he's kind of taking a liking into you.

00:13:30.500 He's liking you.

00:13:31.500 So, what happens next from there?

00:13:32.500 So, then in the third year when I was 16 or 17 like that, we had this restaurant from France come to cook for one week their food from Burgundy from Dijon.

00:13:42.500 It's a restaurant called Trois Faisons.

00:13:44.500 And they came and I looked the way they cooked like they made chicken in red wine sauce.

00:13:49.500 Coco vin they call it or boeuf bourguignon or they made pâtés.

00:13:52.500 They used wine like bottles of wine and reduced it and simmered the chicken and they brought snails.

00:13:58.500 Like we didn't have snails in Austria and so I said I want to go to France.

00:14:03.500 So, I wrote them a note.

00:14:06.500 You know, I would like to come and practice there for a year or so as a stagiaire and they accepted me.

00:14:12.500 So, I went there with the train.

00:14:15.500 It took like a day and a half.

00:14:16.500 How old are you at this?

00:14:17.500 Seventeen.

00:14:18.500 Seventeen.

00:14:19.500 Yeah.

00:14:20.500 About a year into it, the owner and chef of the restaurant in Dijon, there's a party for the staff.

00:14:24.500 I spoke French already at that time, so a little bit at least.

00:14:28.500 And then the party was because we got a star in the Gitte Michelin.

00:14:32.500 And I had no idea at that time about the Gitte Michelin.

00:14:35.500 So, I took one book and we got one star.

00:14:38.500 So, everybody said, oh, now we are like one of the top restaurants in France or the top restaurant, the way they were talking.

00:14:45.500 And then I take the book and I said, oh my God, there are two star restaurants and three star restaurants.

00:14:50.500 So, then I said, before going back to Austria, I want to work in a three star restaurant.

00:14:54.500 And then I wrote to Bocuse and Trois Gros and La Serre and all the famous restaurants.

00:15:00.500 And the first one who responded positive was Raymond Tullier at Beaumaniere in south of France, near Marseille.

00:15:09.500 Three star.

00:15:10.500 Three star, yeah.

00:15:11.500 There's not that many three stars around the world.

00:15:12.500 No, at that time there were twelve.

00:15:14.500 Twelve three stars around the world.

00:15:16.500 Yeah, they didn't have it international, it was only France.

00:15:19.500 Got it.

00:15:20.500 And then they went to Germany, Italy, France and so on to Spain and America, everywhere now.

00:15:25.500 Yeah.

00:15:26.500 I started there and over there the owner and chef was 72 years old.

00:15:30.500 But he was so passionate about food, about the products.

00:15:35.500 And I still remember as a kid there and he used to bring, Picasso used to come to the restaurant.

00:15:40.500 He used to walk with Picasso into the kitchen.

00:15:43.500 Picasso was a little guy, he was big, walked him around.

00:15:46.500 At Picasso.

00:15:47.500 Yeah.

00:15:48.500 You served Picasso, you came for Picasso.

00:15:49.500 Yeah.

00:15:50.500 We had the Queen of England came.

00:15:52.500 Wow.

00:15:53.500 We had like at that time Elizabeth Taylor came and Richard Burton.

00:15:56.500 I remember I was there years into it.

00:15:59.500 One day Peter O'Toole, a famous actor from England, he used to film there somewhere.

00:16:04.500 And my friend was a waiter and he was sitting by himself drinking.

00:16:09.500 And then I had the little motorbike, I had to drive him to the part of the hotel on my motorbike,

00:16:14.500 which was a small house, like a dependent house.

00:16:18.500 And he was hanging on to me and I was driving him to his room, to his hotel.

00:16:24.500 Wow.

00:16:25.500 So it was an interesting thing.

00:16:26.500 And that's when I really said, I want to do that for a living.

00:16:29.500 I said, I want to be like Raymond Trillier.

00:16:31.500 So until that moment you hadn't, you hadn't decided yet?

00:16:34.500 I hadn't decided.

00:16:35.500 You were just kind of doing it because your mom does this.

00:16:37.500 Yeah.

00:16:38.500 Because my mom, because I wanted to get away from my stepfather.

00:16:41.500 And then at that time I had a friend who was a truck driver.

00:16:44.500 And he used to drive from Trieste in Italy to Vienna.

00:16:47.500 And he made a lot of money.

00:16:49.500 I mean, for me at that time, you know, I made maybe, I don't know, 500 shilling at that time a month.

00:16:55.500 And he made 5,000.

00:16:56.500 That's a lot of money.

00:16:57.500 I know.

00:16:58.500 For a kid with 5,000 shilling, I could buy a car or a nice motorbike and go skiing.

00:17:03.500 I didn't have to walk up the mountain.

00:17:05.500 I could take the lift and everything.

00:17:07.500 Go out with the girl and everything.

00:17:09.500 So I wasn't sure.

00:17:11.500 But then Trillier became my mentor.

00:17:14.500 And I think when I was 19, really it changed my life.

00:17:18.500 And I was cooking next to him.

00:17:21.500 So he was making all the sauces and everything.

00:17:24.500 And somehow he took a liking on me because I wasn't scared of him.

00:17:28.500 And like when he made something, or I made something, he tasted it and said,

00:17:33.500 Okay, put a little salt, put a little pepper, put a little lemon juice, whatever it is in the sauce.

00:17:38.500 And then I said, Okay, I put the things in.

00:17:40.500 And then when he made something, he said, Taste it.

00:17:43.500 I taste it.

00:17:44.500 I said, Oh, maybe a little salt and pepper, maybe a little this.

00:17:47.500 And he looked at me.

00:17:48.500 Okay.

00:17:49.500 He didn't say it.

00:17:50.500 So he took counsel from you.

00:17:51.500 Yeah.

00:17:52.500 And I was like 19 years old.

00:17:53.500 Wow.

00:17:54.500 Did that kind of give you confidence?

00:17:55.500 Oh, totally.

00:17:56.500 Somebody like him listens to you.

00:17:57.500 Yeah, totally.

00:17:58.500 And everybody else, when he made something, they tasted it and said, Oh, it's delicious.

00:18:02.500 You know, Oh, it's very good.

00:18:04.500 You know, nobody would tell him a little more this or a little more that except me.

00:18:08.500 And I thought, no big deal.

00:18:10.500 You know. 0.62

00:18:11.500 Was he crazy? 0.84

00:18:12.500 Was he the typical chef?

00:18:13.500 Because he has multiple personalities.

00:18:14.500 Yeah.

00:18:15.500 No, he had a passion.

00:18:17.500 He was 72 years old.

00:18:19.500 He was so passionate.

00:18:21.500 So he had this huge gardens with six gardeners providing all the ingredients we used in the

00:18:29.500 kitchen.

00:18:30.500 Like we get the tiniest string beans, the best strawberries or the best melons and things like

00:18:35.500 made in the garden.

00:18:36.500 Made in the garden.

00:18:37.500 The gardens that he had.

00:18:38.500 With the six gardeners in his garden.

00:18:39.500 Yeah.

00:18:40.500 Wow.

00:18:41.500 And he had olive orchards.

00:18:43.500 So we used to go in November when it wasn't busy.

00:18:45.500 We picked the olive trees, shook the olive trees with a big tablecloth underneath and picked

00:18:49.500 up all the olives and made olive oil and everything.

00:18:52.500 So to me, it was really the beginning where I said, wow, this guy is amazing.

00:18:57.500 He's 72 years old.

00:18:59.500 And he actually was so nice to me.

00:19:01.500 And like one day when he went on vacation, I still remember, he told the chef who was at

00:19:06.500 that time, maybe 40 years old or so.

00:19:09.500 He said, I'm leaving for a week, but Wolfgang has to stay here and do the sauces and make sure

00:19:14.500 he doesn't take a day off.

00:19:15.500 Yeah.

00:19:16.500 He noted the sauce close to the way he was making the sauce.

00:19:18.500 Yeah.

00:19:19.500 And he gave me all his confidence then.

00:19:21.500 And so I think he changed really my life.

00:19:24.500 That's powerful right now.

00:19:25.500 And you know, the funniest thing is talking about Iran. 0.59

00:19:28.500 So when I was there, Maxime in Paris and Beaumontia did the 2000 anniversary of the

00:19:35.500 Imperial.

00:19:36.500 1972 or 74, somewhere around there.

00:19:39.500 Yeah.

00:19:40.500 And I was supposed to go and I forgot, I didn't have a passport because I...

00:19:45.500 You were supposed to go to the 2500 year celebration in Iran.

00:19:48.500 Yeah, totally.

00:19:49.500 And they went, Beaumontia went, Maxime went, and you know, they...

00:19:52.500 Everybody.

00:19:53.500 I mean, that was like the party to go to.

00:19:54.500 I know.

00:19:55.500 It was an amazing thing without in...

00:19:57.500 Persepolis.

00:19:58.500 Persepolis.

00:19:59.500 Wow.

00:20:00.500 And you remember that.

00:20:01.500 Yeah, totally, totally.

00:20:02.500 Totally, totally.

00:20:03.500 And I go and they said to you, like two days before, I said, okay, you need your passport.

00:20:08.500 They want to know your passport. 0.98

00:20:10.500 And I said, shit, I don't have my passport. 0.99

00:20:13.500 I lost it. 0.99

00:20:14.500 I don't know what happened.

00:20:15.500 Wow.

00:20:16.500 So how many years did you work under him?

00:20:17.500 How many years?

00:20:18.500 Two and a half years, almost three years.

00:20:19.500 Got it.

00:20:20.500 And really then, like I was 20 years old.

00:20:23.500 He had another restaurant.

00:20:24.500 He had a three-star restaurant and a one-star restaurant.

00:20:26.500 He fired the chef in a one-star restaurant and put me there for a year as the chef in

00:20:31.500 a one-star restaurant.

00:20:32.500 I was 20 years old.

00:20:33.500 I had five French guys with me.

00:20:35.500 They were my cooks.

00:20:36.500 And they were all older than me.

00:20:38.500 So it was tough for me to order them around because they said, who is this Austrian?

00:20:42.500 You know, we are the French, you know, we know about food, we are much better.

00:20:46.500 But he really trusted me and that really changed my life, you know, and gave me confidence.

00:20:52.500 I bet.

00:20:53.500 And I don't know.

00:20:54.500 So somehow it took me to the next level.

00:20:56.500 So what do you do next after that?

00:20:58.500 So you have this experience?

00:20:59.500 Are you kind of getting confidence?

00:21:01.500 Confidence, yeah.

00:21:02.500 So then I went to work in Monaco at L'Hotel de Paris and I didn't like it there because

00:21:07.500 it was so structured but it was boring in comparison to Beaumagnier.

00:21:11.500 Was it also Michelin one-star?

00:21:12.500 Yeah, maybe one-star or two-star.

00:21:14.500 But very formal, not individual.

00:21:16.500 You know, it was everything like the books, you know, like Escoffier style.

00:21:20.500 And then I went to see Mr. Tullier and I said, you know, I don't know what to do.

00:21:24.500 I want to go somewhere else if he can help me.

00:21:27.500 So he said, okay, I'm going to Paris and I'm going to see Mr. Vaudable, the owner of Maxime's,

00:21:32.500 which was a three-star restaurant.

00:21:34.500 And maybe they find you a job there.

00:21:36.500 And he did.

00:21:37.500 So I started to work at Maxime's in Paris.

00:21:39.500 So you have experience with two three-star restaurants.

00:21:41.500 Yeah.

00:21:42.500 How different was the one in Paris than the one you worked at in?

00:21:45.500 Well, Beaumagnier was mainly the owner and chef.

00:21:49.500 I said, I want to be like him.

00:21:51.500 I want to own my own restaurant.

00:21:53.500 I want to own my own destiny.

00:21:55.500 I don't want to go to somebody to ask for a race.

00:21:58.500 So you modeled your career after him?

00:22:00.500 After him.

00:22:01.500 Okay.

00:22:02.500 And then how was the one in Paris?

00:22:03.500 In Paris was very good.

00:22:05.500 I loved it because it was a very upscale French restaurant.

00:22:09.500 Again, everybody, the whole world used to go to Maxime's in Paris.

00:22:13.500 I remember like Onassis was a regular Salvador Dali. 0.86

00:22:17.500 And all these people used to come.

00:22:19.500 All the actors.

00:22:20.500 I saw Charlie Chaplin there waiting outside for his limousine.

00:22:24.500 And so it was an amazing experience.

00:22:26.500 The Kennedys used to come.

00:22:28.500 The whole clan used to come.

00:22:29.500 Maxime's was the place to go.

00:22:31.500 I mean, I remember Shiskar d'Estaing was the finance minister at that time.

00:22:36.500 He used to have lunch there every day because Ruiz Rivoli, which is the minister of finance there.

00:22:41.500 They were not far away.

00:22:43.500 So it was a great experience too.

00:22:45.500 But the cooking or what inspired me was Mr. Tuillier at Beaumagnier.

00:22:50.500 Still.

00:22:51.500 Still, I said, I want to be like him.

00:22:53.500 Not like the chef at Maxime's who was very good, but he worked for somebody.

00:22:57.500 So to me at that time, I said, I want to create my own destiny.

00:23:02.500 So I want to say correctly, Beaumagnier.

00:23:04.500 Beaumagnier.

00:23:05.500 Beaumagnier.

00:23:06.500 Beaumagnier.

00:23:07.500 Beaumagnier is B-A-U-M-A-N-I-E-R-E.

00:23:11.500 So Beaumagnier, you worked with him and you worked at the place in France.

00:23:16.500 Yeah.

00:23:17.500 At this point, are you making money yet or you're not making money?

00:23:19.500 No.

00:23:20.500 So you're not making money yet.

00:23:21.500 Beaumagnier, I didn't make much money.

00:23:22.500 L'Hôtel de Paris, I didn't make much money.

00:23:24.500 And Maxime's, the last six months, the night chef, because Maxime was open late after theater and everything.

00:23:31.500 So we had a lot of people coming after the opera and like at that time, like Maria Callas used to sing and so forth.

00:23:38.500 So then I used to come and the night chef who was responsible for the kitchen left to open his own restaurant.

00:23:44.500 And then the chef told me, oh, you're going to be the chef now at night with five chefs in a three-star restaurant.

00:23:51.500 And I said, okay.

00:23:52.500 And there is the first time I made money.

00:23:54.500 So I bought a car.

00:23:55.500 Remember, I bought an Alfa Romeo from one of the...

00:23:58.500 Wow.

00:23:59.500 Yeah.

00:24:00.500 And that was like a chic car.

00:24:01.500 Alfa Romeo is like...

00:24:02.500 When I went to a club or, you know, to a disco at that time, and the girls saw me driving an Alfa and said, okay.

00:24:07.500 Alfa Romeo was a racing car in Europe, it seems very well on racing.

00:24:10.500 Yeah, a sports car.

00:24:11.500 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:24:12.500 In America, not really in Europe.

00:24:13.500 In Europe, it was big at that time.

00:24:15.500 Very big.

00:24:16.500 Yeah.

00:24:17.500 You have an Alfa Romeo, you're making a little bit of money.

00:24:19.500 So what happens next for you to say, I want to come...

00:24:22.500 You seem like you're a person who modeled.

00:24:24.500 You seem like you're somebody that's extremely driven because of what happened with your stepdad and you wanted to prove a point.

00:24:29.500 You had somebody who loved you, which is your mom.

00:24:31.500 And then you modeled somebody who believed in you, Beaumannier.

00:24:35.500 But then after that, what was the inspiration to say, I'm coming to America?

00:24:38.500 So when I worked at Maxime's in Paris, Maxime's opened a restaurant in Chicago.

00:24:44.500 And Maxime's in Chicago.

00:24:45.500 Got it.

00:24:46.500 And then the pastry chef, who I became good friends with, opened the restaurant in Chicago with Maxime's.

00:24:52.500 And then he came back to France after a year or two years.

00:24:55.500 Worked again at the restaurant in Paris, at Maxime's in Paris.

00:24:59.500 And he and me became very friendly and hung out and everything.

00:25:03.500 And then he said, you are young.

00:25:05.500 And obviously I watched all these cowboy movies.

00:25:08.500 I watched movies where they all drive this big Chevrolet and Cadillacs and everything.

00:25:12.500 I said, everybody is rich in America.

00:25:14.500 I want to go to America.

00:25:15.500 And then I left Maxime's.

00:25:17.500 The chef said, okay, if you don't come back in the next two months, I give your job to somebody else.

00:25:21.500 But I will wait because I really like you.

00:25:24.500 And I went.

00:25:25.500 And then I didn't like New York.

00:25:26.500 I didn't like the restaurant.

00:25:27.500 It was called La Goulue where I was supposed to work.

00:25:30.500 You didn't like New York as a city or you didn't like your experience with the restaurant?

00:25:34.500 Both.

00:25:35.500 I don't know.

00:25:36.500 Because you just didn't connect with it.

00:25:37.500 I didn't know where to go.

00:25:38.500 Like I remember I arrived at the airport and the taxi asked me where I want to go.

00:25:42.500 And I said, I want to go to New York City.

00:25:44.500 And he said, but where?

00:25:45.500 I said, well, to a hotel around the Empire State Building because I knew the Empire State Building.

00:25:50.500 And then he dropped me off in a cheap hotel and he probably saw the young kid like that.

00:25:54.500 And I remember we had cockroaches all over and everything was terrible.

00:25:57.500 And then the restaurant I was supposed to work was like a pisto.

00:26:01.500 And I said, I worked in all these three-star restaurants.

00:26:04.500 This is not the cooking I love, you know, that way.

00:26:07.500 There's nothing wrong with the pisto, obviously.

00:26:09.500 But I was young.

00:26:10.500 I said, I want to play at this level, not at this level.

00:26:14.500 And so then through a friend there, they found me a job in Indianapolis.

00:26:19.500 And I got so excited because.

00:26:21.500 All the cities in Indianapolis.

00:26:23.500 But I am still, but I was always a fan of outdoor racing.

00:26:27.500 So like for me Formula One was like the top sport.

00:26:30.500 Yes.

00:26:31.500 And the Indy 500 is the top race in the world maybe at that time for sure.

00:26:37.500 So what year was that?

00:26:38.500 Is that still in the 70s or are we in the 70s?

00:26:40.500 Yeah, in the 70s.

00:26:41.500 In the mid 70s, in the 74.

00:26:43.500 74.

00:26:44.500 So eight years before Spago gets started.

00:26:46.500 Yeah.

00:26:47.500 So then I worked in Indianapolis for a year.

00:26:49.500 Then came to Los Angeles.

00:26:52.500 I started to work in a restaurant called Ma Maison, which I had no idea at that time how bad it was or whatever.

00:27:00.500 I quit my job and then started to work there.

00:27:03.500 And my first paycheck bounced.

00:27:05.500 I said, what the heck?

00:27:06.500 I never had that happen in my life.

00:27:07.500 So I went to the owner, Patrick Deray, who's his uncle owned La Tour d'Argent in Paris.

00:27:13.500 And I said, what are you going to do?

00:27:14.500 They said, there's no money in the bank.

00:27:16.500 And you know, they only did like 30 lunches and maybe that many dinners.

00:27:19.500 He said, well, and then we worked out a deal where I became a part owner.

00:27:24.500 And he says, so that way you get some upside if the restaurant as well.

00:27:28.500 Sure enough, the restaurant started to get better and better.

00:27:31.500 We got more and more customers coming.

00:27:34.500 And I remember at one point, Gourmet Magazine called up and says, oh, we went to the restaurant.

00:27:42.500 The critic, he wanted some information.

00:27:44.500 And so we talked and said, oh, my God, I had this caramel ice cream.

00:27:48.500 It was amazing.

00:27:49.500 I had this fish and puff pastry.

00:27:51.500 It's good.

00:27:52.500 I said, Paul Bocuse in Lyon and so on.

00:27:54.500 And they went on and on.

00:27:55.500 And they wrote this amazing review.

00:27:59.500 And then I told Patrick, I said, I don't know what we're going to do.

00:28:01.500 It's just we started to get busy in the restaurant with a lot of locals.

00:28:04.500 People like Orson Welles used to come every day for lunch.

00:28:08.500 I used to sit with him, talk with him.

00:28:10.500 I said, now I'm not going to be able to serve them anymore.

00:28:13.500 Because everybody from all over the country is going to know we have this restaurant.

00:28:17.500 So we decided to take out the listing in the phone book.

00:28:21.500 You know, there was no cell phones at that time and everything.

00:28:23.500 Why?

00:28:24.500 Because so we don't, we only get the people who know us can come and the other ones not.

00:28:28.500 To keep it elite.

00:28:29.500 To keep it elite.

00:28:30.500 But when you did that, did you raise prices?

00:28:32.500 No, nothing.

00:28:33.500 You kept it the same.

00:28:34.500 We kept everything the same.

00:28:35.500 I was just so concerned.

00:28:37.500 I said, we have to serve our customers.

00:28:39.500 We have.

00:28:40.500 So that way they can get a table.

00:28:42.500 That way we can serve them.

00:28:43.500 I still had a very small kitchen.

00:28:45.500 And so I said, we cannot go instead of serving 80 dinners, all of a sudden serve 150.

00:28:50.500 It would be impossible.

00:28:51.500 So that's what happened.

00:28:52.500 So we took that out.

00:28:54.500 Then the next thing is People Magazine wrote this huge article about how snobby, how chic,

00:29:01.500 everything on Amazon is.

00:29:03.500 They even have an unlisted telephone number.

00:29:06.500 So then, and they say, and they said, by the way, that is the number.

00:29:11.500 That makes everybody want to go.

00:29:13.500 Totally.

00:29:14.500 And they published the number.

00:29:15.500 People Magazine published the number.

00:29:17.500 So then we had to put a private number for our regular guests.

00:29:19.500 They got the private number because the phone rang off the hook.

00:29:22.500 And then I built a bigger kitchen.

00:29:24.500 But then I still said, you know what?

00:29:26.500 I'm a part owner.

00:29:27.500 Instead of having confidence in me.

00:29:30.500 Like for example, when he went on vacation, he told the Metadie to sign the checks, not me. 0.95

00:29:35.500 And I said, he's crazy.

00:29:36.500 The Metadie comes to work.

00:29:38.500 I produce for 65 or 70% of the income of the restaurant because I'm the chef.

00:29:43.500 I decide if we make money or not, basically.

00:29:46.500 And then he has this guy who is a nice guy, but signed the checks instead of me.

00:29:51.500 So I got really pissed off.

00:29:52.500 And then I said, you know, I don't think that's going to work out in the long term.

00:29:56.500 But I still felt, in a way, guilty a little bit to leave.

00:29:59.500 So I stayed on.

00:30:00.500 And then one day I found this new location on Sunset.

00:30:04.500 And I went to Patrick and I said, you know, I found this location, but we have to change the way we operate.

00:30:10.500 We have to create a restaurant company, an operating company.

00:30:13.500 We're going to run the restaurants, but we have to be 50-50 partners.

00:30:16.500 Not that I own 10% and you own 50%, you know.

00:30:19.500 He says, no, I always going to own 51%.

00:30:22.500 Well, then I said, well, that me too.

00:30:24.500 So then we left.

00:30:26.500 I left to leave.

00:30:27.500 What year is that?

00:30:28.500 That's then in 81.

00:30:30.500 Okay.

00:30:31.500 You left?

00:30:32.500 In 81.

00:30:33.500 81.

00:30:34.500 Yeah.

00:30:35.500 So I stayed there for six years.

00:30:36.500 I built up my maison from $18,000 business a month to $300,000 a month.

00:30:42.500 That's a lot.

00:30:43.500 And that was in, yeah, in the seventies.

00:30:45.500 So.

00:30:46.500 Wow.

00:30:47.500 Did it become a one star, two star?

00:30:48.500 Was there a Michelin?

00:30:49.500 No, there was no Michelin.

00:30:50.500 But we were of the top three restaurants in the city.

00:30:53.500 And, you know, everybody used to come to the restaurant.

00:30:56.500 I used to cook for all the big movie people and record theater.

00:31:00.500 You met everybody.

00:31:01.500 Yeah, totally, totally.

00:31:02.500 You probably had dinner, wine, drinks, with everybody.

00:31:04.500 Uh-huh.

00:31:05.500 So then you come out here.

00:31:06.500 Then, so that was here in LA.

00:31:08.500 Okay.

00:31:09.500 And then I found this location.

00:31:11.500 And because Patrick didn't want to be 50-50 partner, I had to leave.

00:31:15.500 This location?

00:31:16.500 The first location up on Sunset.

00:31:18.500 Yeah.

00:31:19.500 Yeah.

00:31:20.500 So then in 82, in January, I opened Spargo.

00:31:23.500 So Spargo was the first restaurant with an open kitchen.

00:31:27.500 I built the open kitchen.

00:31:28.500 I said, I want to manage the whole restaurant.

00:31:30.500 I want to see the customers.

00:31:31.500 I want to see how everything works.

00:31:33.500 You were the first open kitchen?

00:31:34.500 Yeah.

00:31:35.500 Of any upscale restaurant.

00:31:36.500 Yeah.

00:31:37.500 Wow.

00:31:38.500 And now it's very customary.

00:31:39.500 Yeah.

00:31:40.500 Everybody has it now.

00:31:41.500 Yeah.

00:31:42.500 Open kitchen, yes.

00:31:43.500 We were the first one, like here in LA, to have a wood burning oven, a wood burning grill

00:31:47.500 and everything.

00:31:48.500 So we cooked everything over light fire.

00:31:50.500 And I think, but the open kitchen really was this thing all of a sudden.

00:31:55.500 Then I thought, I'm going to have this neighborhood restaurant, you know, up on Sunset Boulevard.

00:31:59.500 You had the houses up in the hills and everything.

00:32:01.500 And it became this instant success.

00:32:04.500 I remember three weeks into it, Billy Wilder, who was a famous movie director and also Austrian

00:32:09.500 like me, brought in Sidney Poitier and Jack Lemmon and John Collins.

00:32:14.500 So they were all sitting on one big table and somebody from the newspaper or whatever was

00:32:18.500 there too.

00:32:19.500 And they said, oh, Spargo is the place to go now.

00:32:22.500 Everybody somehow had to go to Spargo.

00:32:24.500 We became this really amazingly busy restaurant.

00:32:28.500 Then I talked Swifty Lazare, who was like an agent, into doing the Oscar party there.

00:32:33.500 So we were packed every night.

00:32:36.500 And the funny thing was, because you had the front of the restaurant where all the VIP

00:32:40.500 were sitting and then the back, which was Siberia, and people used to get pissed over 1.00

00:32:44.500 and said, ah, you son of a bitch, you sent me over in Siberia again. 0.99

00:32:48.500 I said, no, the food is the same. 1.00

00:32:50.500 Everything is the same.

00:32:51.500 So let me ask you, there's a part, obviously you're very charming, you're very charismatic,

00:32:56.500 you're very attractive, your personality is very, very attractive.

00:32:59.500 You think that kind of helped you when it comes, because it looks like you have the creative

00:33:04.500 side, you have that part about creating, but also the other element of convincing Oscars

00:33:09.500 to want to, you know, do the Governor's Ball.

00:33:12.500 How many years has it been that you've done, I mean?

00:33:14.500 Well, we're doing the Governor's Ball in the 25th year already.

00:33:17.500 25th year already?

00:33:18.500 Yeah.

00:33:19.500 That's craziness to be able to say 25, 25 years.

00:33:22.500 So did you call them and you said, I want to.

00:33:24.500 They came to me and asked me, why you don't do our Governor's Ball, the Board of Governors.

00:33:30.500 Who was they?

00:33:31.500 Who was they?

00:33:32.500 The Board of Governors, the people who put on the Oscars.

00:33:34.500 They contacted me.

00:33:35.500 They have a Board of Governors.

00:33:36.500 So like, I remember at that time Arthur Heller, who was a famous director, you know,

00:33:41.500 who did Love Story and many other movies.

00:33:43.500 Yes, Love Story is a beautiful movie.

00:33:45.500 Yeah.

00:33:46.500 And Alan and Marilyn Bergman, who did all the songs for Barbara Streisand, were on the board.

00:33:50.500 And they used to come to Spargo one day and say, you know, we really would like you to cater the dinner.

00:33:55.500 And I said, okay, I'm going to try and see.

00:33:58.500 So when I did the first dinner after the awards, it was at the Shrine Auditorium.

00:34:02.500 I still remember like yesterday.

00:34:04.500 And normally they had nobody going to the dinner.

00:34:07.500 They all came to the party at Spargo.

00:34:09.500 So their restaurant, the whole room was full.

00:34:12.500 Everybody stayed for dinner and everybody ate.

00:34:16.500 And I remember Mike always came with Paul Newman and Robert Redford and all the people.

00:34:22.500 And I walked around.

00:34:23.500 These were the main actors at that time.

00:34:25.500 The big time.

00:34:26.500 Yeah, big time guys.

00:34:27.500 That was, you know, in 1995 or 1994 or something like that, you know.

00:34:33.500 So I think then after that now everybody goes to the Governor's Ball.

00:34:38.500 Whereas before it was always nothing, you know, nobody went.

00:34:41.500 I remember when we were at Spargo watching the Academy Awards with Swifty and his party.

00:34:47.500 And then some TV crew was over there at the Beverly Hilton where they had the Governor's Ball.

00:34:52.500 And it was empty.

00:34:53.500 And some of them went there with their Oscars, said hello and walked out.

00:34:56.500 And came to us.

00:34:58.500 Came to you.

00:34:59.500 Yeah.

00:35:00.500 That's the part about you that there has to be people wanting to help contribute to your success.

00:35:04.500 Like there's got to be an element of likeability.

00:35:07.500 Yeah.

00:35:08.500 With people.

00:35:09.500 So how much of your business world and what you think about, how much of your business is it the food?

00:35:13.500 Is it the recipes?

00:35:15.500 Is it what you do in the kitchen?

00:35:16.500 And how much of it is the service you provide me as a person that's coming to you?

00:35:19.500 Because there's some level of loyalty for service as well.

00:35:22.500 How we interact with the customer.

00:35:24.500 How we make them feel.

00:35:25.500 So sure, we have to make great food.

00:35:28.500 We have to give good service.

00:35:30.500 But we are in the hospitality business.

00:35:32.500 We want to make people feel good.

00:35:36.500 We want to make people feel happy when they come to a restaurant.

00:35:39.500 We want to make people feel that when they leave, they're going to make a reservation or they're going to think, oh, I'm going to come back as soon as I can.

00:35:48.500 You know the nightclub business.

00:35:49.500 A nightclub runs for like five to ten years in the 90s.

00:35:53.500 Dublins, you know, you had all these things and then they die out.

00:35:55.500 Yeah.

00:35:56.500 And the next one comes out.

00:35:57.500 Garden of Eden and then that Decentral Club, it dies out.

00:35:59.500 And so nightclub is almost like a cyclical cycle of five to ten.

00:36:02.500 Yeah.

00:36:03.500 Very similar to restaurants though, right?

00:36:04.500 36 years is a long time.

00:36:06.500 And now you're in Vegas, you're in Istanbul with Spago.

00:36:09.500 I'm not even talking cut.

00:36:10.500 Yeah.

00:36:11.500 You have it all these other places.

00:36:13.500 How did you manage it to keep staying attractive for the customers to want to keep coming back?

00:36:18.500 Because traditions changes, generations change.

00:36:21.500 So generationally you've done Boomer, Gen X, Millennial.

00:36:25.500 How are you doing that?

00:36:26.500 You know, it's an interesting experience because when I tell people that all these guests, for example, if it was Tony Curtis, Chuck Lemmon, Orson Welles,

00:36:35.500 Elizabeth Taylor, whoever, they're all dead now.

00:36:39.500 That's a different tradition.

00:36:40.500 It's a totally different generation. 0.99

00:36:41.500 If we stay the same, it's very difficult because then the younger people don't want to come.

00:36:48.500 But if you change too much, you lose all your base clientele.

00:36:52.500 So then you're in trouble too.

00:36:53.500 Then you have to get a complete new one.

00:36:55.500 So we have people who come here.

00:36:57.500 That's a powerful point you just made right there.

00:36:59.500 Because sometimes so many entrepreneurs are so concerned about only getting new customers.

00:37:04.500 They forget to keep the existing loyal customers.

00:37:06.500 They have a very good point.

00:37:07.500 Yeah.

00:37:08.500 That's how a lot of restaurants stay in business two years or even less or a little more.

00:37:14.500 Because I think you have to get a really good base clientele.

00:37:18.500 You have to have people who come and become repeat customers.

00:37:23.500 You know, it's very expensive always to get new customers in any business.

00:37:27.500 It's much cheaper to keep the old ones.

00:37:29.500 First of all, this has been a pleasure just listening to you and your story.

00:37:33.500 Obviously, I know who you are.

00:37:35.500 I know what you've done.

00:37:36.500 I know all that.

00:37:37.500 But I didn't know the deeper side of the story.

00:37:39.500 For you to open up and kind of share with the rest of us.

00:37:41.500 Yeah.

00:37:42.500 It's obvious why you are who you are right now.

00:37:44.500 It's an inspiration to a lot of people out there.

00:37:46.500 Well, I hope so.

00:37:47.500 And I hope, you know, that people really think that it doesn't, it wasn't always like that.

00:37:52.500 You know, there's always difficulty.

00:37:55.500 There's always somebody who's trying to put something in your rod, you know, put something

00:38:01.500 against you, make you feel bad.

00:38:03.500 But patience and tenacity are an important part.

00:38:08.500 Now, if you're lucky like me and you find your passion, then life is easy.

00:38:15.500 Then you don't have to go in the morning and say, oh, I have to go to work again.

00:38:19.500 You get up in the morning, like I went yesterday to the fish market.

00:38:23.500 Do I have to go to the fish market?

00:38:24.500 No.

00:38:25.500 But I love to.

00:38:26.500 I did that for years and years and years.

00:38:29.500 Like I went to the fish market, to the flower market.

00:38:31.500 I still love to be involved in it because food and the customers are really my passion.

00:38:38.500 And that's why customers like me keep coming back.

00:38:40.500 And we keep coming back because it's important that the man at the top is still in the game.

00:38:45.500 And you still love the game.

00:38:46.500 So Wolfgang Puck, thank you so much for your time.

00:38:48.500 So good to have you.

00:38:49.500 Thank you.

00:38:50.500 My pleasure.

00:38:51.500 Thanks everybody for listening.

00:38:52.500 And by the way, if you haven't already subscribed to Valuetainment on iTunes, please

00:38:55.500 do so.

00:38:56.500 Give us a five star.

00:38:57.500 Write a review if you haven't already.

00:38:59.500 And if you have any questions for me that you may have, you can always find me on Snapchat,

00:39:03.500 Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.

00:39:05.500 Just search my name, Patrick David.

00:39:07.500 And I actually do respond back when you snap me or send me a message on Instagram.

00:39:11.500 With that being said, have a great day today.

00:39:13.500 Take care everybody.

00:39:14.500 Bye bye.

00:39:15.500 Bye bye.

00:39:16.500 Bye bye.

Valuetainment - April 24, 2019

Episode 288： Wolfgang Puck - From Chef to $100 Million Entrepreneur

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