Wolfgang Puck: Eat Locally, Dine at 20.21?

It’s really good to see that Wolfgang Puck has jumped on the
sustainable, humanely-raised, locally-grown bandwagon, but when he came
to town last week to promote his new food policies, I couldn’t resist
asking him one tough question.

The Austrian-born chef’s sprawling network of fine-dining
restaurants, fast-casual outlets and catering operations around the
country served some 10 million diners last year, so when a guy like
Puck makes a well-publicized move towards humane and sustainable
eating, it’s likely to have a real impact.

The new program, created in partnership with the Humane Society of
the United States, is called WELL (TM), which stands for Wolfgang’s
Eating, Loving and Living. (Catchy, huh?) The standards include using
and serving only eggs from cage-free hens, serving only all-natural or
organic crate-free pork and veal, and chicken and turkey from farms
that comply with progressive animal welfare standards, serving only
certified sustainable seafood, eliminating foie gras, and expanding the
use of organic foods, and increasing vegetarian offerings.

The program hasn’t required him to raise prices at his upscale
restaurant, Puck said, because they already use a lot of sustainable,
locally produced ingredients. At 20.21, the restaurant at the Walker
Art Center that Puck operates, the kitchen has already been serving
local meats and produce, including pork from Fischer Purebred Hogs near
Waseca, and poultry from Wild Acres near Pequot Lakes. But at his
fast-food restaurants, he has had to raise some prices by 10 percent or
so.

Still, Puck volunteered that Americans need to eat less – and that
they could eat less, and spend less at his restaurants by ordering
dishes to share. "I would much rather that they come twice a week and
spend $40 than come once and spend $80."

So far, so good, but I had to ask: If people really want to eat
locally and sustainably, shouldn’t they avoid restaurants owned by big
national companies like Puck’s, and patronize locally owned businesses?

The question seemed to catch Puck a bit off-guard. "I think that’s
stupid," Puck replied. "Why exclude somebody if they do the right
thing? We do something for the city, so the city supports us. I think
it makes everybody better. If there is more competition it makes
everybody work harder and think twice about what to serve. If you only
had a local scene, it would make everybody stagnate. We are a country
of different origins different cultures and that’s what makes it
exciting."

I mentioned the Cheesecake Factory, and the other national chain
operators at Southdale as example of big chain restaurants that take
millions of dollars away from locally-owned independent restaurants,
but Puck didn’t buy it:

It is true, but we are a free country. "There is a reason why people
go to the Cheesecake Factory. If I lose a customer, there’s a reason.
They might get a better deal there. The food might be better. The
service might be better. The environment might be better." If the small
operations want to stay in business, says Puck, they have to innovate.
"You cannot today just have a little restaurant and keep it going and
going like it used to be. People today are fickle; they want new
things."