How Johnny Carson Inspired Wolfgang Puck's Frozen Pizza Line
As one of the first celebrity chefs, Wolfgang Puck's trail-blazing story has amassed a stable of A-list fans like George Clooney and Lady Gaga. In addition to enjoying his food, some have influenced his business, such as Johnny Carson, who inspired Puck's line of frozen pizza via a weekly habit of buying and freezing 10 fresh pies weekly from Spago, Puck's restaurant.
In a 2012 interview with Bon Appetit, Puck stated "Johnny Carson used to come to Spago and order whole pizzas to take home. I asked him what he was doing with them and he said, 'I put them in the freezer.' I was upset, really. I was like, 'I make fresh pizza, and you put them in the freezer?' But then I tried it out, and it actually tasted really good. That's what gave me the confidence to start the frozen pizza business."
Even with the inspiration from A-lister Carson, starting this new venture wasn't an overnight success. Puck first experimented with freezing and reheating a fully cooked pizza, but it became too dry to enjoy. Instead, Puck found that if he were to cook his pizza halfway, then freeze them, they reheated pretty nicely. Debuting to the public, his frozen line featured delicious flavors like Spago's original four-cheese, sausage and herb, and spicy chicken.
A Spago signature pizza may fill the void Puck's frozen line left behind
Despite being a successful venture for some time, and garnering a partnership with food company ConAgra, Puck bought his brand's license back and shifted his focus when the team-up flopped. Further, his frozen pizza was met with mixed reviews. While they were made with fresh ingredients, some critics found them as "just okay," while others found them flat and cracker-like in taste and appearance. It also didn't help that the USDA took issue in qualifying them as pizza, due to lacking tomatoes at first.
Similar to Carson influencing Puck's frozen pizza empire, "Dynasty" actress Joan Collins helped create Puck's legendary smoked salmon pizza. In the 1970s, Collins visited Spago in Los Angeles during a very busy hour. The actress ordered a smoked salmon with brioche, but Spago had run out of the soft and sweet bread. Adapting quickly, Puck subbed it with pizza dough, topping it red onions, and fresh dill cream. The custom pizza became such a hit that it became a signature pizza and a mainstay at the Annual Oscar's Governor's Ball.
With an absence from the freezer aisle, Wolfgang Puck's frozen pizza may have unofficially found itself among the discontinued frozen pizzas we wish would make a comeback. That said, as of 2020, the celebrated chef's catering service teamed up with Goldbelly to deliver his famed smoked salmon pizza throughout the United States for a cool $129.95 plus taxes and fees. This allows Puck's pizza fans to technically experience both his frozen pizza and Spago's icon signature pizza without needing to visit any of their locations.