In the worst news to hit the food world since last month's announcement that New York's Russian Tea Room is being converted into a golf museum, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and his wife of 20 years, Barbara Lazarus (who has been credited with designing his famed restaurants, which include Spago) are getting divorced.

Los Angeles TV station KNBC reports that the couple, who have two sons, ages 8 and 13, separated on Nov. 16. Lazarus filed the divorce papers in L.A. Superior Court nine days later, citing irreconcilable differences, according to the Associated Press.

Perhaps best known as host of his own show on the Food Network and a frequent guest on "Good Morning America," the Austrian-born Puck, 53, came to the U.S. in 1973 as the chef and partial owner of the Beverly Hills hotspot Ma Maison.

In 1982 he opened Spago Hollywood, which became the place to be and be seen. Legendary agent Irving "Swifty" Lazar hosted his very private Oscar party there every year until his death in 1993.

That Spago closed last year, and the Beverly Hills Spago is now the company flagship. There are also Spagos in Las Vegas and Chicago.

The Puck name is also on a catering business, 12 fine-dining restaurants worldwide as well as on 15 Wolfgang Puck cafes and 19 Wolfgang Puck Express casual restaurants, including those in several of the nation's airports.

The Pucks' business also includes a catering company, a show on the Food Network, a line of cookware and cookbooks.

The division of the couple's considerable assets has yet to be determined, AP reports.