Post Event Release: The Heart Foundation Honors Wolfgang Puck with The Steven S. Cohen Humanitarian Award

Evening Featured Celebrity Chefs Preparing Signature Dishes; Special Musical Performances by Michael Bublé, Charice Pempengco, Katherine Jenkins and Cody Karey;  Comedy Performance by Dana Carvey; and Kelsey Grammer Emceed

Los Angeles, CA – The Heart Foundation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, dedicated to raising awareness of heart disease, honored celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, businessman and philanthropist Wolfgang Puck with The Steven S. Cohen Humanitarian Award this evening (May 30), at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.  The evening featured a spectacular culinary experience with dishes prepared by 17 special guest chefs.  Kelsey Grammer emceed and entertainment included a comedy performance by Dana Carvey and musical program by David Foster featuring vocalists Charice Pempengco, Katherine Jenkins and Cody Karey and a surprise performance by Michael Bublé.  Last year’s Steven S. Cohen Humanitarian Award honoree Berry Gordy presented to Puck.

“Wolfgang Puck truly embodies all of the qualities The Steven S. Cohen Humanitarian Award recognizes,” said Mark Litman, Chairman of The Heart Foundation and close friend of the late Steven Cohen.  “We are honored that he has agreed to accept this prestigious award.”

The name Wolfgang Puck is synonymous with the best of restaurant hospitality and the ultimate in all aspects of the culinary arts.  The famous chef has built a gastronomic empire that encompasses three separate Wolfgang Puck entities: Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining, Wolfgang Puck Catering and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide.  Concurrently with his restaurant and catering operations, Wolfgang Puck has made a name for himself as a communicator.  He has written six cookbooks and has been a regular guest on ABC’s Good Morning America since 1986.  Wolfgang’s syndicated newspaper column, “Wolfgang Puck’s Kitchen,” appears in over 30 newspapers in the United States and Canada, reaching more than 5.3 million people each week.  The chef is known to tens of thousands of television viewers who see him regularly on Home Shopping Network (HSN) where he demonstrates recipes using his growing line of Wolfgang Puck branded housewares.

Central to all of Wolfgang Puck’s endeavors is his Wolfgang’s Eat, Love, Live® (WELL) philosophy.  This stands for culinary passion for eating and dining WELL which means a commitment to provide food made with only the freshest and healthiest natural and organic ingredients available, to celebrate local farmers and seasonal ingredients, and to use only humanely-raised animal products.

Puck is actively involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors and charitable organizations, including his own Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation which has raised over $10 million for Meals-on-Wheels programs of Los Angeles.  He is also a major supporter of the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Special Olympics, the Cystic Fibrosis Society, Race to Erase MS, Children’s Diabetes Foundation, Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program and Mazon.

The renowned chefs who paid homage to Wolfgang Puck with their signature dishes were: Michael Cimarusti of Providence, Los Angeles; Josiah Citrin of Melisse Restaurant, Santa Monica; Joseph Manzare of Globe Restaurant and Zuppa Restaurant, San Francisco; Kazuto Matsusaka and Vicki Fan of BEACON an asian café, Los Angeles; Matt Nichols of Brothers Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern, Los Olivos; Richard Reddington of REDD Restaurant, Yountville; Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery and Mozza, Los Angeles; Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani of Terra Restaurant, Napa Valley and Ame Restaurant, San Francisco; Lee Hefter of Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining; Matt Bencivenga of Wolfgang Puck Catering; Thomas Boyce of Spago, Beverly Hills; Rene Mata of Chinois on Main, Santa Monica; Ari Rosenson of CUT, Beverly Hills; Sonny Sweetman of LA Live, Los Angeles; Sherry Yard of Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining; Sixto Pocasangre of Wolfgang Puck Catering; and Nicole Lindsay of CUT, Beverly Hills.

The Heart Foundation’s goal is to prevent, cure and eradicate heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States today.  To further that end, the foundation supports the groundbreaking cardiac research of Dr. P.K. Shah and his colleagues at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.  Dr. Shah and his colleagues are currently in discussions with the FDA to obtain permission to launch human testing in the last quarter of 2009 of the heart disease vaccine they have developed.

The Heart Foundation was established in 1996 in memory of Steven S. Cohen, an incredible husband, father, son, brother and friend, who lost his life to Sudden Cardiac Death at the age of 35 with no warning signs.

The Steven S. Cohen Humanitarian Award, named for the man whose sudden death transformed a community, recognizes outstanding individuals who effect change within their communities and demonstrate a commitment to the betterment of humankind.  Past recipients include: Berry Gordy, Kirk and Anne Douglas, Norman R. Brokaw, and Marshall Ezralow.

For more information on The Heart Foundation, please call (818) 865-1100 or visit www.TheHeartFoundation.org.

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CONTACTS:

Katy Sweet/Pam Giangregorio                       Catherine Erlinger
Katy Sweet & Associates                                    The Heart Foundation
(323) 852-0772                                                    (818) 865-1100

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