He’s not only Hollywood royalty, and a celebrity chef, he’s the original Hollywood Celebrity Chef, recognized by his first name only and someone who’s as famous as the legion of stars that he’s cooked for the past 38 years or so.
He’s also having a hard time hiring waiters to keep his incredibly successful Southern California restaurants open for business.
Wolfgang Puck told Yahoo that even though many of his waitstaff earn over $100K per year, he can’t hire enough workers because they are sitting home collecting unemployment free money courtesy of the Biden administration.
Cartier, one of his marquee joints in Beverly Hills hasn’t been able to open post pandemic because he can’t staff it.
Here’s a taste of what the Austrian legend told Yahoo. “People get paid really well. Still, it’s difficult to find people to work. At Chinois in Santa Monica it’s the same thing. I cannot open for lunchtime. Or even at Spago in Beverly Hills, you know, where people, waiters, make $120,000 a year. But I cannot find them.”
The sad thing is people have flocked to his restaurants, business would be close to record levels— if he could open all his restaurants.
“The demand is definitely there. We get enough customers, but we cannot serve them. In an upscale environment, you have to give people great food and great service. So it’s difficult to find enough people.”
If you’ve never had the opportunity to eat at one of Wolfgang’s restaurants, try as hard as you can to do it the next time you visit Southern California. It’s an unforgettable experience. If you have no plans on being in So Cal any time soon, watch for the new documentary coming out soon on his incredible life and career. The world screening premiere of Wolfgang will be available to stream on Disney Plus from Friday, June 25.
Add comment