Sebastian Wilczek
Cook and culinary trainer. He gained his experience in restaurants in Poland, Denmark and Italy. His speciality is culinary workshops and large, compl...
He was introduced to cooking and his love of food by his father, who worked as a chef in London in the 1980s. Paweł knew even then that catering school was the only right direction. After graduating with honours from the Catering Technical School in Poznańska Street in Warsaw, as a 19-year-old he decided to go to Munich, where he gained his first professional experience in the famous Bayerischer Hof hotel, and where he had his first experience of the highest standards in the kitchen of the Atelier Restaurant, recently awarded the third star in the Michelin Guide. After two years, he moved to Dublin, where he worked for a year in the boutique hotel The Merrion observing the work, the only two-star restaurant in Ireland-Patrick Guilbaud. After a year already as a shift leader, he began a two-year collaboration with the world’s most exclusive hotel chain, The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. On his return to Poland, Ms Magda Gessler offered him the position of head chef at the newly opened French-Polish Restaurant Gar in Warsaw.
This was followed by a stint as deputy chef at the residence of His Excellency the British Ambassador to Poland, Charles Crawford, which landed him a job as shift leader with London Gastronomy Legend Anton Mossiman OBE at his Mosimann’s Private Dining Club in the London Borough of Belgravia, where he had the honour of cooking for His Royal Highness Prince Charles and the British Royal Family including preparing the test panels for the Wedding Reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
In London, he also trained at the legendary three-star Gordon Ramsay Restaurant under Claire Smith and Matt Abe and interned with the highly creative Australian chef Brett Graham at The Ledbury, one of the world’s best restaurants according to the “50 Best Restaurants” list and awarded two Michelin stars.
Once again, he returned to Poland to open and run the restaurants in Poland’s first business club, Sky Club Warsaw, for two years as chef.
He spent the next seven years cooking for His Excellency the Australian Ambassador to Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, where he had the pleasure of preparing dishes for many world-class politicians and diplomats.His fascination with modern Australian cuisine sparked a fascination for Asian cuisine and a series of culinary trips around Asia. So much so that, in 2016, thanks to the favour of the Ambassador, he completed a one-month internship at the two-star Narisawa restaurant in Tokyo, which is considered the most creative restaurant in Japan and has been recognised several times as the best restaurant in Asia according to the “San Pellegrino List”.
At the end of 2018, Paul completed another month-long internship at the two-star Kadeau restaurant in Copenhagen, where he had the unquestionable opportunity to learn the ins and outs of modern cuisine and Nordic hospitality at its best.
In January 2019, in his role as chef, he prepared another restaurant opening, this time with European cuisine in a modern edition.The “Srodmiescie Południowe” restaurant is increasingly popular with guests and has already managed to make its mark on the map of Warsaw’s casual restaurants.
Paul’s desire for continuous professional development, expanding his knowledge and being inspired by the latest trends in world gastronomy motivated him to embark on another culinary journey to Tokyo for a month’s training at Inua Restaurant, one of the few restaurants in history to be awarded two stars in the Michelin Guide just one year after opening. Inua is the sister restaurant of Copenhagen’s Noma, and the chef in charge of it, Thomas Frebel, was for several years the right hand of Rene Redzepi himself, setting the culinary trends of world gastronomy in recent years by running the Research and Development department at Restaurant Noma.