Wolfgang Puck's daily rules for a lasting restaurant empire

Wolfgang Puck, a 76-year-old chef who came to the US from Europe and opened Spago in West Hollywood in 1982, has spent more than 60 years building his restaurant business. He now oversees more than 100 fine-dining and casual eateries worldwide, and still spends most nights in his restaurants tasting food, talking with guests, and watching the smallest details.

Mornings start around 6:30 a.m. with a double espresso, a 45- to 60-minute walk — often with his two dogs — and a workout of weights, stretching, and the elliptical. Breakfast around 8:30 is light: seasonal fruit, yogurt with olive oil, salt, and pepper with toasted whole-grain or seeded Spago bread, or sometimes avocado toast.

He reads printed editions of The New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and the California Post over coffee before heading to his office at the Pacific Design Center about 10 a.m., sometimes stopping first at the Santa Monica farmers or fish market.

United States, West Hollywood

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