Walter Wagner
Executive General Manager
Food & Beverage Hotel
Crown Limited
As Executive General Manager, Food & Beverage Hotel at Crown, Walter is responsible for the Food & Beverage operation consisting of 17 restaurants located on the gaming floor and retail area, a retail shop as well as for the banqueting department, which includes the prestigious Palladium at Crown. The division employs a total of 950 full-time and part-time employees.
Joining Crown in January 1996 as Executive Chef, Walter was responsible for the day to day operation of the temporary Casino at Galleria and for the planning of the opening of the F&B in the new Crown Entertainment Complex. This included the setting up of the entire kitchen operation, the coordination of the recruitment of all kitchen employees for the opening (including 460 chefs), developing the food concepts for over 20 restaurants and banqueting, and the purchasing of all operating equipment and chinaware required. In 1997, Walter was promoted to the position of Director of Food & Beverage Operations at Crown and then to Executive General Manager, Food & Beverage Hotel in June 1998.
Walter began his culinary career at Hotel Reber au Lac in Locarno Switzerland in 1968 and gained experience as Commis de Cuisine and Chef de Partie in various five star establishments throughout Switzerland, Iran and Turkey. In 1977 Walter was promoted to Executive Chef at the Taif Intercontinental in Saudi Arabia followed by positions in Afghanistan and Port Vila.
From 1982 to 1986, Walter held the position of Regional Executive Chef for East Africa and Executive Chef at the Hotel Intercontinental in Nairobi, Kenya. As Regional Executive Chef, Walter was also responsible for the coordination of the opening of Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nairobi and the Hotel Intercontinental Mombasa.
Following this, Walter was transferred to the 800 room Hotel Intercontinental in Frankfurt, Germany as Executive Chef. During this period, the Rotisserie restaurant was recognised in the 1986-87 edition of the famous French Food Guide "Gault et Millau" and awarded one Toque.
In 1988, Walter moved to Japan as the Executive Chef for the opening of the Hotel Tokyo Bay Hilton in Urayasu-Shi, Chiba. This hotel consisted of 750 rooms and 12 Food & Beverage outlets, room service and large banqueting facilities. Walter remained at Hotel Tokyo Bay Hilton until 1993 when he accepted the position of Executive Chef at the Hotel Hyatt Regency in Osaka.
As the Executive Chef for the Hotel Hyatt Regency, Walter was the opening chef responsible for setting up the entire kitchen operation, including the development of food concepts for all outlets and the preparation of a la carte menus for all outlets and banquets.During his tenure in Osaka, Walter was appointed a Director of the All Japan Cooks Association in Osaka. He also co-authored the cookbook "The Food of Japan", published in the Periplus World Cookbook Series in August 1995.
Walter is a member of the following associations:
- Vice Chancelier Culinaire of the Victorian Chapter of the Chaine de Rotisseurs
- Member of the Academie Culinaire de France
- Honorary Board member of the International Ice Sculpture Association in Tokyo
Walter is also a recipient of the following awards:
- Manager of the Year (Director Food & Beverage) awarded by the Australian Institute of Hospitality Management Inc in 1998,
- "Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merit Agricole, given by the French Ministry of Agriculture in recognition of his contribution to the development of the French Culinary Arts
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