VIDEO: How President Obama Dines At Events
The Daily Meal's Ali Rosen caught up with chef to the stars Wolfgang Puck at The Borgata in Atlantic City to discuss Spago's renovations and a meal he recently catered for the president at George Clooney's home.
The chef and restaurateur recently catered an event thrown by George Clooney in honor of President Barack Obama. They started with an artichoke salad, followed by grilled scallops with a pea purée and pear vinegar, then Peking duck, braised beef cheeks, and his signature chinois lamb chops, and finally, sundaes covered in berries and caramel sauce.
The president sat with every table for about 10 minutes (there were 16 tables in total). Instead of dining 16 times, Obama ate before the event — Puck's staff would wait to serve each table until after the president sat with them. Obama enjoyed the same meal as his guests before the event, except that his lamb chops were served medium-well instead of medium-rare, upon request.
Puck also plans to close his acclaimed restaurant Spago in Los Angeles around his birthday (in early July) to remodel the space in updated modern style. The updates include a removable roof over the backyard area and a skylight in the dining area to let in more sun — Puck also has plans to change the whole menu at the restaurant. "I really think that when I think it's time to change then we have to change, I can't wait for the guests to tell me because if the guests start to tell me that Spago is getting too old then it becomes a problem," he says.