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Wolfgang Puck feeds 1,700 stars after the Oscars. He says the real challenge isn’t the food.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

As Hollywood celebrated the Oscars this weekend, Wolfgang Puck and his team were once again tucked away in the kitchens. They’re behind one of the ceremony’s biggest traditions: the Governors Ball dinner that follows the awards.

Puck has run the culinary team at the Governors Ball for over 30 years. And while the Oscars may be one of the most glamorous nights in Hollywood, Puck says the catering business behind events like the Governors Ball can be tougher to run than a restaurant — an industry where about half of new businesses fail within the first five years.

“A catering business is really more difficult to run because you might be really busy for a week and then another week you have very little,” Puck, who has spent decades building both restaurant and catering operations, told Business Insider at this year’s Oscars.

The scale of the operation behind Hollywood’s biggest night shows just how labor-intensive that business can be. Puck’s team prepares 84 different dishes, including 30,000 small plates for about 1,700 guests at the Governors Ball.

The event requires an army of workers: around 75 savory chefs, 45 pastry chefs, and hundreds of servers.


Wolfgang Puck serving food at the 2025 Oscars.

Wolfgang Puck serving up food after the 2025 Oscars. 

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images



Puck explained that the biggest challenge in catering is keeping a stable team when the workload is unpredictable. Restaurants tend to have more consistent hours and traffic. Catering doesn’t always work that way.

The biggest challenge in catering

For catering operators, the volatility of the business can affect scheduling and payroll. This makes it difficult for catering companies to keep skilled workers, especially during slower periods, Puck says.

The broader industry reflects that challenge. The US catering sector employs about 158,000 workers across thousands of businesses, but the average company has just about 11 employees, according to industry analysis firm IBISWorld. This means most catering companies rely heavily on temporary or event-based staff to scale up for large jobs.


Food display of purple and chocolate desserts.

Desserts display for the Oscars. 

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images



Staffing shortages have become one of the industry’s biggest hurdles. Nearly 89% of event industry leaders say labor shortages have affected their ability to deliver successful events in the last year.

“People cannot say, ‘Okay, I get a job two weekends of the month,'” Puck told Business Insider. “People have to pay their rent, feed the family, and everything.”

Wolfgang Puck’s catering business strategy

Puck opened his business, Wolfgang Puck Catering, in 1998. To create more consistent work for his staff, the company expanded its business beyond large evening events like the Oscars.

“What is great with us, we do a lot of corporate catering,” Puck said. “So we do Netflix, Sony, Beach, Google, Apple, and so forth.”


Wolfgang Puck at a buffet of food at the Oscars.

Wolfgang Puck in front of a wide display of culinary treats after the 2025 Oscars. 

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images



Those catering gigs tend to focus on weekday breakfasts and lunches rather than large evening events. This helps fill gaps between large events. “So that helps us to have a really good team in place,” Puck said.

An added bonus, Puck says, is that the Oscars is always on a Sunday, when these big corporations are closed. So, there are no conflicting schedules.


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I joined a decluttering challenge and got rid of 496 items in a month. I made a point to not throw anything in the trash.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mesha Griffith, the author of The Bedtime Mantra. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I’m a children’s book author and mom. One day, I looked around the house and said, “We have too much stuff.”

I got the idea to declutter for 30 days and get rid of 496 items from The Minimalists podcast. You have to get rid of one thing on the first day, two on the second day, three on the third, and so on.

We started it in 2021. My husband and I, along with some extended family, would do a group text at the beginning of the year and say, “Here’s what I’m going to get rid of,” and send pictures back and forth to hold each other accountable.

I decided to share the challenge with my Instagram followers. I posted my first decluttering challenge in January 2025, and then I did the second one in December 2025. Someone said I should draw a random number every day for the December challenge, and I had to purge however many items the number said, which turned out to be the perfect way to gamify it — and to hold myself accountable to post consistently on social media.

Even though I had done this before, I had plenty to sort through

All of our stuff was once money, and I just started seeing everything as dollar signs. One day, I added everything up I was getting rid of that day and how much I originally spent on it, and it was $400.

I’m more aware of the things I’m buying and bringing into my house, but even we have clutter. For example, we collect so much paper. I threw away three expired insurance cards. I threw away instruction manuals. You can find the PDFs online.

The comments section became a community

Every day since this went viral with my decluttering videos, I have had people waiting to see what number I’d pull the next day. I didn’t want to let those people down. People even began doing their own challenge alongside me. It was more exciting to me that other people were inspired by my little challenge.

In the beginning, I’d get a lot of comments asking me whether I’d count this or that item, or how many items something like a Tupperware with a lid counted for.

I’d tell them not to focus on that — it counts because it’s causing you anxiety, stress, or agitation.

I was even intentional about how I got rid of stuff

Throwing stuff away was never an option. I had time, energy, and mental capacity to try to find new homes for as much stuff as I could.

I’d resell on Facebook Marketplace, but it would need to go quickly. I didn’t want to have a box of unsold stuff at the end of the month. If it didn’t sell quickly, I’d take it to the thrift store, the free pantry, or other places. For example, I took towels, sheets, and blankets to the Columbus Humane Society, and I took building supplies and working appliances to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.

I don’t think I’ll do any more decluttering challenges for myself this year. I feel like I’ve run out of things to get rid of, but I would love to help either a family member or a friend declutter their home.




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