Support Chef Joseph Lidgerwood to feed people in need.

Tasmanian-born Joseph Lidgerwood built his early career in some of the world’s most demanding kitchens, serving as chef de partie at both The Ledbury in London and The French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley — two of only a handful of three-Michelin-star restaurants anywhere.

 Rather than settle into a conventional fine-dining career, Lidgerwood spent years as a self-described 'culinary pilgrim,' running pop-up dinners across cities including New York, Hong Kong and Yangon under the banner One Star House Party. A stop in Seoul on that circuit became permanent. Lidgerwood, alongside his Korean wife Ginny Kim, opened Evett in the Gangnam district at the end of 2018 — reportedly Seoul’s only English-speaking restaurant serving Korean food — built entirely around Korean ingredients, foraged finds and traditional techniques like handcrafted meju (fermented soybean blocks) reimagined through long tasting menus.

Evett received its first Michelin star in the 2020 Michelin Guide Seoul, less than a year after opening, and Lidgerwood was awarded the Michelin Young Chef Award in 2021. In 2025, Evett was elevated to two Michelin stars, a distinction it retains in the 2026 guide — one of Seoul’s most internationally recognised fine-dining rooms, known for dishes like its signature Meju Donut, a deep-fried glutinous rice dough filled with cream, anchovy dalgona and black garlic.

At CEO CookOff Sydney, Lidgerwood brings a career built on genuine cultural immersion — an Australian chef who became one of Korean cuisine’s most respected international ambassadors by treating no ingredient as too ordinary to reinvent.