Star Kitchen: Wolfgang Puck

It's hard to believe that Wolfgang Puck has any time to cook at home these days: He has 104 restaurants, plus lines of pizzas, soups and cookware and, oh, that little Oscar dinner he throws. But he still makes pancakes each morning for his Ethiopian-born wife, Gelila, and their two sons, Oliver, 4, and Alexander, 3.

The couple considered wood countertops to match the home's country look but ultimately opted for marble because it's easier to clean and maintain. "It's not a showroom," Wolfgang says. His one criticism of the big island: It's not big enough!

These wine holders save Wolfgang a trip down to the cellar, but he's wary of keeping good bottles here for long because they can be ruined by changes in temperature. When the kids are out of their "getting-into-everything" phase, the chef plans to install a small wine fridge in the island.

When Wolfgang and Gelila bought the house, the kitchen was in the middle of a renovation that included plans to place the sink, not the stove, on the island. "Cooking and looking at the wall would have been terrible," says Wolfgang, who reversed it so he can watch his boys — or televised tennis — while he works.