Welcome to my little slice of the web. I am excited to share my passion for exuberant living with you here. From the twists and turns of building a culinary empire with chef Wolfgang Puck and supporting vital charitable organizations to raising two boys in Beverly Hills, my life has been an adventure. I hope you are inspired to take risks, dare to dream and make every day an exuberant one by living in full color! ~Barbara Lazaroff
I didn’t plan to become a restaurant designer or to create the foremost, long-lasting Wolfgang Puck Brand, but life offers twists and we never know where we’ll end up. When I met Chef Wolfgang Puck, I knew the world should know his culinary genius and I had a vision of what he could be. Together we ran with this dream — with exuberance!
Wolfgang was already a great chef,” says L.A. restaurateur Michael McCarty, “but Barbara came along and flipped it all into high gear. She took it down a zany trail. ~People magazine, 1984
First, I designed and co-created Spago Hollywood which quickly became the “in” place for the who’s who in Hollywood and later earned us the James Beard Restaurant of the Year award.
“Barbara makes it happen,” says Alexander de Toth, manager of the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, who employs Puck as the hotel’s menu consultant. “Whatever Wolf does in the kitchen, Barbara makes the world know about it.” ~People magazine, 1984
Soon I found myself designing more restaurants that garnered acclaim and awards as well as many a fun description by restaurant critics. Among them, Spago Beverly Hills, Chinois on Main (in Santa Monica), Chinois Las Vegas, Eureka, Granita, 3 ObaChine restaurants, and all the WP Cafés including the WP Café in Melbourne, Australia. I also designed such popular restaurants as SHANE Hidden on the Glen in Bel-Air and the Playboy Club Japan in Tokyo.
My fantastic parents taught me the value of giving and helping others and I’d planned to carry that forward, but I never dreamed my success would enable me to become a James Beard Award-winner, as Humanitarian of the Year — and receive over 3 dozen more humanitarian awards, at that!
I certainly never dreamed that I’d be immortalized in wax at Madame Tussaud’s, but there I was!
What I did set out for in my life was to be exuberant! I wish for you to find your own exuberance, to follow it, and to live your best exciting life!
Barbara Lazaroff – Inspiring Speaker
Book Barbara Lazaroff for an inspirational adventure into the world of design, art, and philanthropy, or to speak about the life and work of a restaurateur
Barbara Lazaroff is not just any restaurateur; not many speakers can speak as part of the team that broke the mold on the way that America dines!
She is based in the Beverly Hills, Los Angeles area, but also travels to speak. In addition to Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, she has spoken in San Diego, Chicago, Las Vegas, other cities, and internationally as well.
Contact Barbara’s assistant (barbaralazaroffoffice at imaginingsdesign dot com) to discuss speaking fees. On many occasions she speaks to students/education institutions gratis.
If you are press and interested in interviewing Barbara Lazaroff, you may also write to discuss this.
You can see or hear her most recent radio show appearance on this Mr Restaruant segment. Recorded March 30, 2023, it aired on several on-air radio stations, including Somerset, England. You can listen to it at your leisure here at Apple podcasts or watch the recording of the interview on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=eSumJ14mL84.