Honoring Barbara Lazaroff

The 5th Annual Calabasas Malibu Wine & Food Festival and the city of Los Angeles honor Barbara Lazaraoff with a lifetime achievement awards and gratitude for years of philanthropic work, Saturday June 18, 2011

Restaurateur and interior designer Barbara Lazaroff, ASID, is President of Imaginings Interior Design, Inc. Ms. Lazaroff is renowned for her innovative restaurant concepts and is the brand co-founder and interior designer of acclaimed restaurants such as Spago Hollywood, Spago Beverly Hills, Chinois in Las Vegas and Chinois on Main in Santa Monica, California. Ms. Lazaroff’s signature style is well-known in the design and hospitality industry and reflects her creativity, attention to detail and integration of design elements throughout the space. Imaginative themes and cultural aspects underlie the unique atmospheres she created at restaurant masterpieces, such as, the former Eureka, Obachine, and Granita.

Ms. Lazaroff is also co-owner of all the affiliate companies, and is a majority shareholder in Wolfgang Puck Worldwide. In addition, Ms. Lazaroff is one of the owners of the Wolfgang Puck licensed products, i.e., cookware & accessories which are sold by HSN. Her business and marketing acumen, combined with her definitive design statements, have provided an indelible imprint on both the restaurant and design industries, as demonstrated in the 14 fine dining restaurants she co-owns and operates with business partner Chef Wolfgang Puck.

In 1994, Ms. Lazaroff co-founded the Wolfgang Puck Food Co. and served as a board member, as well as, the director of Restaurant Design and Development until 2000. The original Wolfgang Puck Café design she developed showcases the company logo with Ms. Lazaroff’s custom “pizza chairs,” triangular-shaped fused glass sconces, and elaborate geometric mosaics in vibrant colors on floor and wall surfaces. Today the company is focusing on the expansion of the Wolfgang Puck Catering division and the Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Express, a chain of fast-casual restaurants, with more than 80 locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan.

Ms. Lazaroff is deeply involved with a variety of humanitarian causes. The Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation is a major supporter of Meals-on-Wheels, founding and hosting 28 years of the American Wine & Food Festival in Los Angeles which has raised over 30 million dollars to provide meals for the homebound, disabled and elderly. Lazaroff and Puck also founded and organized the annual California Spirit Gala raising 12 million dollars for the American Cancer Society over the past twenty-six years. In 2011 Spago hosted the twenty-seventh Passover Seder to benefit Mazon for hunger relief.

Ms. Lazaroff is dedicated to the advancement of women in business and their empowerment in political and social arenas. She was a founding board member of the International Association of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs and was inducted by the National Association of Women Business Owners-Los Angeles Chapter into their 2000 Millennium Hall of Fame. Her philanthropic efforts have supported groups such as Girl Scouts, Big Sisters, and the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee. Her support of the arts includes patronage of individual artists and museums across the country, such as the Zimmer Children’s Museum. She also served for 10 years on the board of directors of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. Ms. Lazaroff ’s unmistakable talent, generosity of spirit and three decades of work have earned her numerous prestigious design, business & humanitarian awards, as well as, several honorary degrees. In 2010 Barbara joined the Board of Governors for Jewish Life T.V.

Ms. Lazaroff is currently in development for a television production, as well as, a line of home and commercial products. Within the scope of her very rewarding professional life, Barbara feels her most important creations, successes and blessings are her two sons Cameron & Byron.

Also check out Barbara's latest Wishes From a Mother's Heart