WOLFGANG PUCK CATERING AND EVENTS TO OPERATE
WALKER ART CENTER’S RESTAURANTS
AND SPECIAL-EVENTS CATERING IN ITS EXPANDED FACILITY

The Walker Art Center has selected Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events (WPCE), founded by acclaimed master chef Wolfgang Puck in 1998, to operate the restaurants and catering in its expanded facility expected to open in spring 2005. As part of increased visitor amenities, the Walker’s new full-service restaurant, informal self-service café, and catering for special events will reflect Wolfgang Puck’s signature style, trademark innovative cuisine, and legendary service. Based in Los Angeles, WPCE’s operations include such Chicago venues as the Museum of Contemporary Art. Its flagship events include the Academy Awards’ Governors Ball in Los Angeles and Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo Ball.

"The Walker Art Center supports a new generation of artists and helps to define new art forms which cross the disciplines," said Wolfgang Puck. "I know that the artistic energy and excitement there will inspire our own creative process. The diversity of dining experiences at the Walker will be as stimulating to the palate as the programs are to the other senses."

"In our efforts to provide a magnetic and inviting environment for our visitors," said Walker Director Kathy Halbreich, "the Walker has found in Wolfgang Puck an established and experienced chef whose reputation for culinary innovation and excellence serves our desire to create a restaurant and site for special events that will become favorite gathering spots. The team is amazingly creative and generous; we look forward to collaborating with them on menus for each of the three dramatic spaces for food and entertaining. I think Puck will be a wonderful addition to the Twin Cities culinary landscape."

Though national in its reputation and capabilities, Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events operates from localized regional bases, each of which is deeply engrained in the culture and spirit of its respective community. "We make every effort to become actively involved participants in the communities where we’re based," explains company president Carl Schuster. "Our Chicago office is a perfect example. It’s comprised of Chicagoans with social, professional, and personal ties in the city. Our events take place at Chicago landmarks such as the Lyric Opera, the Field Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art."

A native of Minneapolis, Schuster is enthusiastic about bringing Wolfgang Puck’s operation to the Walker Art Center. "It gives me a great sense of pride," he explains, "and an even greater sense of responsibility. When you have a personal connection to a place, you want to do your absolute best."

The Walker’s new 100-seat full-service restaurant will feature upscale dining in a contemporary setting and serve cuisine developed by Wolfgang Puck and the executive culinary staff from his award-winning restaurants. The executive chef will be selected from within the family of Wolfgang Puck dining establishments. The restaurant will also operate as WPCE’s full-service catering base for cultural events in a spectacular new space, for groups of up to 300 in size, overlooking the downtown Minneapolis skyline. The 130-seat café will offer prepared foods, including Wolfgang Puck’s signature salads and sandwiches.

Austrian-born Wolfgang Puck left Europe in 1973 after learning his craft as a classically trained French chef in the Michelin-starred kitchens of the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, Maxim’s in Paris, and L’Ousteau de Baumaniére in Provence. In 1975, Wolfgang became chef to the stars at Los Angeles’ famed Ma Maison restaurant, and earned his own measure of acclaim. With his partner, designer Barbara Lazaroff, Puck established Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982, followed by Chinois on Main, in Santa Monica in 1983. His culinary empire now includes fine dining establishments in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Palo Alto, and Maui, as well as casual dining and quick-service restaurants in nationwide urban centers, airports, and supermarkets. His signature cuisine mixes formal French techniques and Asian and California-influenced aesthetics with the highest quality ingredients. Puck has published four cookbooks, has a cooking show on the Food Network, and is seen regularly on ABC’s "Good Morning America." His personal philanthropy is the Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation, which for the past 20 years has benefited Meals-on-Wheels programs in Los Angeles. Puck is the recipient of numerous culinary and humanitarian awards.

The Walker conducted an extensive local and national search for an innovative, high-quality food-service provider with the considerable staff and capital to operate both a top-end restaurant and café as well as a major catering service. The current Gallery 8 Restaurant, managed by M.S. Pen Company's Tracy Reuter for more than 20 years, will cease operation at the end of December 2003.

For more information, please contact Simon Powles at Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events, 312.327.6004, or Clare Britell in the marketing department, 323.491.1259.

The Walker Art Center is located at 725 Vineland Place,
at Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, one block off Highway I-94.
For public information, call 612.375.7622.
http://www.walkerart.org