Wolfgang Puck Jumps Into Houston Party Fray — Let the Catering Wars Begin

Renowned chef/restaurateur and darling of the Oscars after-party, Wolfgang Puck is throwing down the gauntlet in Houston, challenging the city’s leading caterers in what promises to be a deliciously heated competition. Wolfgang Puck Catering quietly launched in Houston in December. Email invitations went out today for an exclusive unveiling in February of the catering team’s Houston talents.

As we look forward to that evening at The Corinthian Houston, we’re dreaming of caviar parfait dusted with 24-carat gold, edamame and black truffle pot stickers and perhaps Wagyu sliders, all of which were on Puck’s menu for the 2018 Oscars Governor’s Ball. Whatever the offerings, we are certain they will be dreamy, as those on the invitation-only guest list are potential clients and key players from preferred catering locations and visiting with those who typically engage high-end caterers.

Dallas-based  Andrew Swanson, Wolfgang Puck regional executive chef, has been assembling his Houston team over the past several months while Chelsea Monroe, formerly of Aztec Events & Rentals, has been lining up preferred catering locations. To date, Wolfgang Puck Catering has made the preferred lists of The Corinthian Houston, Hobby Center, White Oak Music Hall, Discovery Green, the Julia Ideson Library and Station 3.

The Wolfgang Puck moniker arrived in Dallas almost a decade ago with the casual Five Sixty, Dallas restaurant atop Reunion tower and then the catering division. They are among preferred caterers at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science, Nasher Sculpture Center and the AT&T Performing Arts Center, frequently catering those entities’ top fundraisers, in particular the Nasher Prize Gala. Kudos are still rolling in from the Perot Museum gala in November.

“They do a wonderful job,” noted PaperCity Dallas editor-in-chief Christina Geyer. “I’m surprised they weren’t already in Houston. But it’s a great addition.”

We’ll see how enchanted A Fare Extraordinaire, City Kitchen, Culinaire, Silverstone Events, Swift + Company, and Tony’s catering are by the new arrival.

The Austrian chef launched his catering arm in 1998 and has operations in Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington D.C.