Executive chef Eric Klein to depart Wolfgang Puck’s Spago after 10 years

After a nearly 10-year stint as Wolfgang Puck’s executive chef at Spago in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, beloved Eric Klein will leave for a new venture on Sept. 14. The news is certain to send shockwaves through the Las Vegas culinary community.

My friend Eric will host his fourth and final Sip and Savor event that night to benefit our Keep Memory Alive for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He has been a strong supporter in the chef community of the annual Keep Memory Alive “Power of Love” galas.

Chef Eric has spent 16 years with Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, joining the company in 1996 and working alongside Wolfgang in his California-based restaurants. When Spago Beverly Hills opened in 1997, Eric was named sous tournament and assisted Wolfgang and Managing Partner and Executive Corporate Chef Lee Hefter in the restaurant’s daily developments.

In 2001, Eric was promoted to executive sous chef/chef de partie-garde manger, a role he held for two years before he left Spago to take on his own business enterprise. In 2005, he moved to Las Vegas to become executive chef at SW Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas, and in 2006 he moved to The Bellagio to serve as executive chef of Fix.

In 2007, he rejoined Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, taking the helm at Spago. I’m told that plans for his next endeavor, and also the new executive chef at Spago, will be revealed shortly.

Through a spokesman, my longtime friend Wolf said: “We’re sad to see Eric leave Spago — everybody loves him, and he’s been a tremendous part of its success — but we’re very happy and excited for his next adventure.”