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Fly With Wolfgang Puck Express
By JULIETTE ROSSANT  Well, Wolfgang Puck has gone and made yet another major alliance in 2004, this time with HMSHost, one of the world’s leading providers of food, beverage and retail concessions to the travel industry with operations in more than 70 airports around the world, affecting one billion travelers annually. Wolfgang had worked with HMSHost already at Chicago's O’Hare and Toronto's airports.A press release quoted HMSHost President and CEO John J. McCarthy as saying, “We are extremely honored to work with one of the world’s legendary chefs... Thanks to his creativity and vision, food lovers all over the world are enjoying dynamic, exciting meal experiences. We look forward to much future success.”  HMSHost will offer not only Wolfgang Puck Express outlets but also a new "Wolfgang Puck Kiosk," a sandwich and salad stand not unlike another new sandwich concept by another super chef, Tom Colicchio, in the form of WichCraft. Both outlet types will showcase other signatures of Wolf's, including the Chinois® Chicken Salad with fresh Asian vegetables, pan roasted chicken breast, crispy wontons and Mr. Puck’s famous honey-mustard dressing.HMSHost just opened a new concept in Boston's Logan airport with Todd English earlier this year (see Todd English entry, listed below). Previous articles: World Series Chefs Serve Baseball Todd English: American Chef Gone Wild Tom Colicchio: a-Kickin' and a-Copin' Nick Valenti: Super Chef Master? Euro Puck Puck in a Box |
posted by Juliette Rossant at 11/06/2004 07:15:00 AM
3 Comments:
Who is Wolfgang Puck kidding with his Gourmet Express outlets? He's only lucky that the airports hold a captive market of travellers desperate for anything but aeroplane meals (is it food?). I have never paid so much for cardboard and tomato sauce before.
Puck's standing as a capable chef leads me to hold the belief that he's obviously never seen what was coming out of 'his' kitchen at the airport. Surely, no professional chef would ever allow such rubbish to be served and endorsed with one's name, not if they valued their reputation.
So I suppose it's all PR and spin and poor Wolfgang is so busy in business dealings that the food is now a minor consideration. And besides, who really knows what good food should look like? In the land of the greaseburger and supersized fodder even superchefs need to appeal to the masses. What? Cater to the minority who can appreciate it? Surely they are not the lion's share of travellers - people who dine abroad and experience other cultures through their food. No. Let's give them some colored goo stuck on a fiber round. At least it'll be hard (if not charred) by comparison to aircraft mush.
I took my in-laws to Terminal 1 for their flight back to Sweden. Happened across Wolfgang Puck Express (never heard of him before) and had the Butternut Squash Soup: OH MY GOD!!! Heaven in a bowl! The BEST soup i have ever had. It was the perfect balance of savoury and sweet, incredible flavour, perfect texture. That was one month ago and I crave his soup every day. Nothing else I've tried even comes close. I'm extremely unhappy that I can only get this soup at Terminal 1. Please make it available in Downtown Toronto.
I had a bowl of Wolfgang's Butternut Squash Soup at O'Hare airport in Dec. '04. It was absolutely declicious! I would love to have the recipe for this soup if anyone knows it.
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