By Jenny Hontz | Harper’s Bazaar
Ethiopian-born designer Gelila Assefa sips champagne in the kitchen of her Beverly Hills home, wearing a flowing leopard-print James Galanos gown, while her fiancé, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, fries up some steaks. Suddenly, flames shoot out of the pan, and Assefa jumps back, protecting her dress. “We’ll see if it’s fireproof,” he jokes, laughing heartily.
Such is the playful dynamic between the couple, each of whom runs a business while raising their children (Oliver, two this month, and Alexander, six months).
“I’m the happiest woman on the planet. I feel like he’s a gift,” says Assefa, 37. The two first met in 1997 in L.A., where she had studied fashion at Trade-Tech College. After she relocated to New York in 2002, Puck arrived, declared his love, and swept her back to L.A. “It was the most powerful thing I’ve ever experienced,” she remembers. “I’m lucky to have him in my life.”
Theirs is a busy life, to be sure. Puck, 57, who also has two boys from a previous marriage, runs a $300-million-a-year food empire that includes the 25-year-old Spago and the hot new steak house Cut, as well as a show on Food Network. He recently made headlines for partnering with the Humane Society on a farm-animal treatment program.
Meanwhile Assefa, who used to design couture gowns, is focusing on her own handbag line, Gelila, which includes simple, classic ostrich clutches and colorful crocodile bags. She takes pains to note that the animals are not killed for their skins but are used as food. “My handbag line is definitely not for a client into labels. I find them vulgar,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t walk around showing my underwear. Logos should be tucked inside.”
Assefa works out of the couple’s five-bedroom home, which houses sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, art by Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, and antiques from L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in Provence. She plans to open her own store in L.A. this fall. “We all have this energy that needs to be addressed in some creative way,” she says. “The handbag line is manageable, to where I can be a mother to my children. That’s my first responsibility. I still want to use my talents without it being too demanding.” Fiercely proud of her heritage, Assefa also serves on the board of the Ethiopian Children’s Fund.
Puck and Assefa always make time to entertain, holding Sunday brunches on their patio for friends such as Sideways actress Virginia Madsen and Sidney and Joanna Poitier, who are godparents to their sons. Tonight they’re hosting a dinner party for guests including author Jackie Collins, husband and wife actors Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy) and Rebecca Gayheart, designer Monique Lhuillier, and Guess CEO Paul Marciano.
Assefa changes into a J. Mendel dress and Jimmy Choo shoes, finishing the look with her “showstopper” Iradj Moini Swarovski-crystal necklace. “I’m definitely not a girl who runs around in Juicy Couture,” she says. “Not even around my house. Sorry.”
Instead, she has a large collection of vintage Galanos gowns alongside current pieces from Lanvin and Olivier Theyskens. Puck chuckles when she claims she’s not a big shopper: “Not a big shopper, compared to who?” Assefa admits she likes to dress Puck. “I buy all his clothes,” she notes. “I like to keep him in classic colors: gray, black, navy. I think men, in general, should wear those colors.”
Guests gather in the living room as they arrive. Puck has prepared a four-course meal of summer vegetables with Maine lobster, tortelloni with corn, Moroccan-style lamb, and a chocolate dessert shaped like one of Assefa’s bags. Madsen bites into Puck’s famous smoked-salmon pizza. “If you are not having sex, you can have this,” she says with a laugh. “In the morning you won’t have to kick anyone out.”
Wine flows throughout the evening, as does the good-natured banter between Assefa and Puck. She needles him for being unromantic, but he proves her wrong with a nudge. “Sunday morning, he brought me coffee, and there was a jewel box,” she explains. “It was a Martin Katz emerald bracelet.”
Romantic, yes; nostalgic, no. “We always look to the future,” Puck explains. “What are we going to do next? A lot of people, as they get older, they get tired. For me, it’s the opposite. I love what I do, so it’s easy.”
By all indications, the guests are loving his dinner as well. The mood is giddy, as everyone trades travel tips and reads one another’s palms. They raise their glasses to toast the hosts. “Everyone just beams at them to see how happy they are,” Madsen says, smiling. “This is the real fairy tale.”