LOS ANGELES, CA, April 30, 2008 — Evolution Media, one of television’s most prolific reality production companies, has signed a program development deal with world-renowned, award-winning restaurateur and interior designer Barbara Lazaroff, it was announced today by Douglas Ross, founder and president of Evolution Media.
Evolution Media and Lazaroff will jointly develop a new hybrid competition/documentary television series in which Lazaroff will challenge aspiring restaurateurs to test their mettle, guiding the one with the most promise through the struggles of opening their own restaurant.
“We are excited to announce this development deal with Barbara Lazaroff. She’s at the top of her field, and she’s a terrific on-air presence. We look forward to tapping into her expertise as a businesswoman and designer to give viewers a firsthand look at what it takes to get a successful restaurant off the ground. There’s no one more passionate or qualified to mentor aspiring restaurateurs in their goals of becoming successful restaurant owners. It’s a dream held by many but attained by only a few…and it’s going to be entertaining to watch,” said Ross.
Lazaroff is president of Imaginings Design, Inc., as well as a partner with chef Wolfgang Puck in many fine-dining restaurants, such as the various Spago, Chinois, Postrio establishments, Cut in Beverly Hills, and the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grilles. She also co-founded the Wolfgang Puck Food Company, now Wolfgang Puck Worldwide. In 1982, Lazaroff and Puck created and branded the original concept and design of the legendary restaurant Spago Hollywood. In 1994 the venue received the James Beard Foundation’s coveted award for Restaurant of the Year. Lazaroff’s former restaurants Granita and Eureka, lauded as design masterpieces, garnered her induction into Hospitality Design Magazine’s Platinum Circle Hall of Fame.
A noted humanitarian and philanthropist, Lazaroff is a founding board member of the Women’s Chefs and Restaurateurs, and supports numerous art, educational, environmental, political, and medical organizations, such as Aviva, the American Cancer Society, Mazon, the Zimmer Children’s Museum, the Fulfillment Fund, and various HIV/AIDS organizations. Lazaroff received the 1994 Humanitarian of the Year award from the James Beard Foundation for her role in the Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation’s annual American Wine and Food Festival benefiting Meals on Wheels.
Lazaroff is represented by Pamela Wagner of James/Levy Management and Susan Haber of Haber Entertainment, who, along with Evolution and Lazaroff, will serve as executive producers of the show.
Evolution Media is a leading full-service production company that produces program content for many of the leading cable, broadcast and syndication companies in the U.S., with more than 1,000 hours of programming to its credit. Current Evolution Media series include Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County” and the forthcoming “Date My Ex: Jo & Slade,” ” truTV’s “Ocean Force,” HGTV’s “Desperate Spaces” and “10 Years Younger” and the upcoming “Get Your Face On” starring Napoleon Perdis for TLC. Headed by Ross and partners Greg Stewart and Kathleen French, Evolution Media is based in Burbank, California. For more information, please visit www.evolutionusa.com.
