A New Zealand native, this jolly fellow has come a long way since his first professional kitchen experience as a dishwasher in Australia at age 13. Chef Wade Watson started his culinary journey with an apprenticeship at the 5-star Orpheus Island Resort in Australia where he showed cooking excellence being Queensland’s Apprentice Chef of the Year, Australia’s youngest executive chef of a 5-star resort, and which made the restaurant Queensland’s Best Fine Dining Establishment two years in a row.

To further hone his skills in the kitchen, Chef Wade constantly relocated to work in several countries around the world such as Canada, Thailand and Hong Kong. In British Columbia, he was Hakai Beach Resort’s executive chef catering to celebrities and VIP’s such as Kevin Costner, Warren Buffet and Jimmy Patterson. He then moved to Toronto where he became the executive chef of Sassafraz Toronto, largely considered the Ivy of Toronto also frequented by celebrities. Aside from being a chef, he also trained other chefs at the city’s Dish Cooking Studio. Outside the kitchen, Chef Wade Watson also co-authored a cookbook called “Behind the Apron” while appearing in numerous TV shows alongside Bob Blumer, Martin Yan, and Greg Coulliard. From Canada, he moved to Hong Kong and became a Consulting Chef at California Restaurant & Bar and the Executive Chef at Lux Restaurant & Bar, both of the well-established Lan Kwai Fong Entertainments group. Before his stint in Abaca Boutique Resort + Restaurant in Cebu, he was the executive chef at a WWF charity event in Hong Kong, heading a 2,000-person banquet. He also served as executive chef for the Ronnie Wood and Billy Wyman Art Launch. It’s about time that internationally renowned chef Wade Watson opened his own chain of restaurants specializing in no other than food he grew up with. Finally, Chef Wade calls Manila home working his magic at BONDI&BOURKE.