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Ma Maison was a restaurant opened by Patrick Terrail in October 1973 at 8368 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California. (1999). 9780867307672, Lebhar-Friedman Books. ISBN 9780867307672 It closed in November 1985. It is credited with launching Wolfgang Puck's career and for starting the trend in cuisine known as "California nouvelle". According to the Los Angeles Times: "By using ingredients sourced from the local farmers markets that highlighted the glory of California's produce and pairing it with French technique, they created a new type of cuisine." Ma Maison was also known for being a hot spot for celebrities and Hollywood figures of the time. Celebrity chronicler Robin Leach noted "it truly became the favorite culinary playground for Hollywood's rich and famous".
Early backers in Ma Maison included Gene Kelly. Kelly's $5,000 investment came at an investment pitch dinner party in late 1973. (1999). 9780867307672, Lebhar-Friedman Books. ISBN 9780867307672 Terrail has also credited director Mel Stuart and producer Fred Weintraub as early investors, and also as attendees at the 1973 dinner party. (1999). 9780867307672, Lebhar-Friedman Books. ISBN 9780867307672
Wolfgang Puck became the chef at Ma Maison in 1975 and departed circa 1982 to form his own restaurant, Spago. Terrail has credited the eventual success of Ma Maison with his partnership with Puck: "The Ma Maison makeover did not happen overnight. The first step was for to walk out of the kitchen and hire an incredible chef. I wanted a real chef in my kitchen. I also wanted somebody who was trained in France. ... Wolfgang is a wonderful creator and he is dedicated to working with the best ingredients." (1999). 9780867307672, Lebhar-Friedman Books. ISBN 9780867307672
Terrail arranged for many famous artists to paint the menu covers designed by David Hockney. (One menu was featured in an art exhibition at the Los Angeles Central Library). Puck refers to an early offer from Andy Warhol: "Eventually Andy Warhol wanted to paint me. I was like, 'No, no, no. Make me my menu cover.
The Ma Maison phone number was unlisted to avoid outsider patronage. In a 2015 interview, Terrail said: "There were practical reasons for everything we did, but it was taken as snob appeal. People magazine was going to come out with a story on Ma Maison, and I was worried that we would be overwhelmed. So I said, 'The best way to stop that is to unlist our phone number,' and we kept it unlisted. People published the number anyway. The concierge at the Beverly Wilshire was selling the number for $5."
Besides being a hotspot for celebrities, they attracted "businessmen and lawyers ... for what became known as Ma Maison's 'drunk lunches'. Debauchery ensued, and conspicuous consumption to the highest degree was commonplace."
One source stated the "fall from greatness" began when sous chef John Sweeney strangled his actress girlfriend (Dominique Dunne) on October 30, 1982, leading to her death on November 4, 1982. Sweeney's trial began in August 1983. Dunne's father, Dominick Dunne, wrote in detail about the trial in Vanity Fair magazine, referring in some passages specifically to Ma Maison. Many believed Terrail supported Sweeney, leading "the glamorous clientele" to stop frequenting the restaurant. Terrail himself, in his book about the history of Ma Maison, both confirms the narrative of how Dominique Dunne's murder affected the restaurant and defends his own role:
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