Chef Tetsuya Wakuda from the Waku Ghin restaurant in Singapore and the Tetsuya restaurant in Sydney has been given the The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award ahead of the announcement of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants List 2015, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna.
Chef Wakuda has a strong basis in Japanese cuisine and classic French technique. This is also mixed with Australian influences thanks to the training he received in the country before opening his Tetsuya restaurant in 1989.
The chef has always said he was lucky in his career, explaining: ‘I made a lot of things up along the way and, luckily for me, people liked the way it tasted."
In 2010, after years at the top of Sydney’s dining scene, Wakuda opened Waku Ghin in Singapore - currently ranked at No.7 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Speaking about the Lifetime Achievement, William Drew, Group Editor of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: “Chef Wakuda’s genius lies in the deep sophistication but apparent simplicity of his cuisine. His understanding of what makes each ingredient shine is inspirational, making him a worthy winner of the prestigious Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Wakudu will receive the award at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony taking place March 9th at the Capella Hotel, Singapore. Chef Ivan Li from the Family Li Imperil Cuisine restaurant was given the award in 2014.