and grew to having three or four camera crews
per event. The Rose Bowl event was the most
physically taxing: “We got our 10,000 steps times
three or four probably every day on that show,”
he added.
Every event was likely to attract Puck himself,
who is just as much as a celebrity as the guests.
The chef often got busy — tasting, advising and
even manning a cooking station. “You don’t know
if he’s coming for 15 minutes or if he’s coming for
two hours. But while he’s there, he becomes the
center of attention,” says Harrington. Puck didn’t
interfere with the series, and his only request was
that his food “look good.”
In a separate interview, Puck admitted his
personality isn’t always a perfect fit for
the world of catering. “I’m a guy who does
everything at the last moment. I often create
chaos because I change my mind in the last
moment,” he says. “I also know in catering, it is
really important to be organized so having a
good team is very important,”
The film crews showed up on big days with
the cooks — sometimes as early as 5:30 a.m.
— but there were some benefits. Watkin and
Harrington felt obliged to try all the food. After
all, they had to know what they were describing.
Watkin recalls taking a few bites of the messy
quiche — and losing his mind.
“I’ve never taken heroin, but I think that the
experience of eating Wolfgang’s quiche must
be very similar to what it’s like when you get a
shot of heroin in the arm,” he says, laughing. “I
immediately had this total feeling of ecstasy and
then I immediately had to chase the high. I had
to have another piece of quiche.”