Wolfgang Puck Named Business Statesman of the Year by Harvard Business School Association of Southern California.

Business & Lifestyle Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 2001

Celebrated chef and entrepreneur Wolfgang Puck has been named "Business Statesman of the Year" for 2001 by the Harvard Business School Association of Southern California (HBSASC).

Puck will be honored at a formal gala reception on May 3, 2001, at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills.

Puck joins an elite group of Los Angeles-area business and community leaders who have been previously recognized, including Disney Chairman Michael Eisner, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and real estate developer Robert Maguire.

Mayoral candidate Steve Soboroff, a past honoree, is chairman of the committee. Civic leader and venture philanthropist Eli Broad, the last person honored, will present the award at the dinner.

The award recognizes the intersection of business excellence and commitment to the community. Puck, a longtime charitable activist alongside his wife and partner, Barbara Lazaroff, has been active in the Los Angeles chapter of the Meals on Wheels Program, which he has chosen to be recipient of 50 percent of the evening's proceeds.

"Wolfgang has been helping us for almost 20 years. He delivered our 10 millionth meal," noted Sister Alice Marie, director of Los Angeles' St. Vincent Meals on Wheels program, the largest privately funded program in the United States.

"Some people get involved for one time, but he is always concerned, not only raising needed dollars for Meals on Wheels programs, but continuing to raise awareness of the seniors and their nutritional needs. One of the things he talks about is that there are people who are able to go to restaurants, and others who can't even get out of their own homes to get a meal."

What started with the opening of Spago Hollywood in 1982 by Puck and Lazaroff has spawned an empire. Wolfgang Puck Casual Dining now comprises 35 branded restaurant locations across the country, consumer packaged foods, cooking products and ancillary licensing products, as well as catering operations in Los Angeles and Chicago. Puck has also authored four cookbooks and hosts a cooking show on the Food Network, recently launched.

Said Gene Pao, president of Harvard Business School Association of Southern California: "We have honored very accomplished individuals in the past. This year, we chose to honor someone who is also very accomplished but is under-recognized for his business accomplishments, let alone for his philanthropy.

"Wolfgang is primarily known for his culinary talents, but what people don't realize are the many famous restaurants, the highly successful lines of food, the new cooking show. We wanted to recognize all those achievements, as well as his commitment to Meals on Wheels."

The other 50 percent of the evening's proceeds is designated for the Harvard Scholarship fund. Since 1967, the scholarship has provided assistance to Southern California students pursuing graduate education at the Harvard Business School.

Details of the event:

WHAT:     The 2001 Business Statesperson Award Dinner honoring Chef
          Wolfgang Puck

WHEN:     May 3, 2001
          6:30 p.m. -- VIP reception and signing
          7:30 p.m. -- dinner

WHERE:    Regent Beverly Wilshire
          Beverly Hills, Calif.

ATTIRE:   Formal (black tie optional)

RSVP:     310/372-3133

Prior to dinner, there will be a VIP Reception and Signing with Chef Wolfgang Puck. The reception will provide an opportunity for all Board Room Sponsors, Chairman Sponsors and Harvard Business School Association of Southern California members to mingle with Chef Wolfgang Puck. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the HBSASC Scholarship Fund and the Los Angeles Chapter of Meals on Wheels.