© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
colour photograph
Courtesy Quentin Jones
Tetsuya Wakuda was born and raised in the Japanese town of Hamamatsu, where he trained as a hotel chef. He came to Australia in 1982, at the age of 22, working as a kitchen-hand at Sydney ’s Fishwives restaurant before becoming the sushi specialist at Tony Bilson’s Kinselas. At Kinselas Tetsuya learnt the classical French techniques that still inform his cooking today. He left in 1984 to open Ultimo’s in partnership with Kinselas’ former head waiter. Then in 1989 he opened Tetsuya’s in Rozelle. The tiny shopfront restaurant – it seated 55 people – was perpetually booked out months in advance, with long daily waiting lists. In 2000 Tetsuya’s moved to its current and more spacious quarters in Kent St . Tetsuya is renowned for creating innovative dishes with a delicate balance of natural flavours. “Make simplicity seem like abundance” is a key philosophy behind his cooking.
Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores celebrates men and women who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia, enriching our lives with new ideas and new flavours over the past forty years.
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