Photo: Cristiano Del Riccio, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Who He Is
When the Oscars end, the party begins, and Wolfgang Puck’s kitchen is ready. The 2026 Governors Ball, the official Oscars after-party, marked his 32nd year catering it, and his team cooked for about 1,500 guests. “Comfort food is always very popular because people didn’t eat all day long,” Puck has said, and guests still come looking for favorites like mac and cheese and chicken pot pie. In 2026, his son Byron cooked alongside him, and the dessert table included an apple strudel made from Puck’s mother’s recipe.
Why He Matters
Puck’s first Governors Ball was in 1995 at the Shrine Auditorium, near the University of Southern California, where his team cooked in a temporary kitchen built in the parking lot. By 2026, the job took about 75 savory chefs, 45 pastry chefs, and 325 front-of-house staff and managers. Puck also plans for guests with special diets. After actor Joaquin Phoenix, who is vegan, won Best Actor in 2020, Puck brought him into the kitchen to share a meal of vegan dishes. He has also learned that guests know what they want: when he once skipped pizza at some parties because he was tired of making it, people came straight to him asking where the pizza station was.
