I first met with Nic Watt to talk about MASU, his award-winning Japanese robata restaurant tucked brightly in Auckland’s Federal Street. But what I found instead was more about the journey that shaped the man behind it. A story about curiosity, culture and the quiet discipline that defines his craft.
Nic greets you with an ease that immediately disarms the formality often attached to high-profile chefs. He’s open, grounded and engaging in conversation. The kind of person who speaks with the same energy he cooks with. Calm precision layered with warmth.
Although he was born in Australia and spent some years going back and forth, Nic’s roots, and his heart, are distinctly Kiwi. “My best friend in the world is still from my primary school in Sydney,” he says. “But I’m now a Kiwi, New Zealand is my home.”
Food, it turns out, runs deep in the Watt family story. His father travelled extensively for work, which helped to develop that worldly palate. His mother, a fashion designer also featuring in a book on New Zealand fashion, brought the creative flair. So it’s no surprise then that Nic gained his creative side from his mother, but the structure and finesse from his father. A rather fitting combo for a chef.
“Mum was brought up with zero sugar because her grandfather was a dentist,” Nic says. “So I didn’t grow up with ice cream or cake, I had fruit bowls. So hence, my food and the way I cook and eat is really clean. My palate now is quite sour.”
From an early age, Nic was drawn to the sea. “I’m a third generation boatie,” he says, and to the simplicity of food in its purest form. “I grew up with just the absolute freshest seafood. I was really fortunate.
“Seeking kai moana was 100% my thing. When I was about five or six years old, way before sushi was ‘cool’, dad would go diving for scallops, he’d shuck the scallop, and when the scallop was still rippling, I’d neck the whole thing.”
That sense of freshness and respect for ingredients has clearly never left him. It’s woven through the DNA of MASU, which opened in 2013 and quickly became one of Auckland’s most celebrated dining experiences. Inspired by the centuries-old Japanese art of robata, cooking over open charcoal, MASU reimagines the tradition through a modern lens. It’s bold yet balanced, refined yet approachable.
That same year, Nic fronted the television series Testing the Menu, taking viewers behind the scenes as he developed dishes and shaped the restaurant’s launch.
Nic’s philosophy is deceptively simple. Use fresh local ingredients, enhance the natural flavours and let the food speak for itself. “I call it modern contemporary,” he says of his menus. “It doesn’t need to be traditional, but it must be authentic. As long as there’s enough storytelling and authenticity in the concept, it fits.”
But long before MASU, and now other endeavors like INCA, blending Japanese and Peruvian influences, and CĀNTĪNG, his modern take on Chinese-inspired street food, there was a young man chasing adventure through hospitality. “I wanted to do hospo because I wanted to travel the world,” he says. His first job was waiting tables, until one day the kitchen needed help. “They pulled me in, and I just loved it. The energy, the camaraderie, the creativity. I never looked back.”
Having started his career as a waiter before moving into the kitchen, Nic carries a perspective few chefs do. It’s what shaped his signature “yes, we can” approach to hospitality, an easy confidence that puts the guest first, even if they might ask for a non-menu item. He might have raised an eyebrow when I said I’d then be ordering a cheeseburger the next time I came to MASU, but that didn’t stop him from explaining exactly how he’d make it, complete with wagyu beef, slider buns… and a grin that said he probably would.
That first kitchen moment ignited a path that would take him from Ponsonby to Sydney, Tokyo, London and beyond. “I became a head chef at 21, and thought I knew it all, as most 21-year-olds do,” he says. “I went to Sydney, but the seafood wasn’t great there, so that’s why I went to Tokyo. I made a conscious decision to go and study seafood, and super fortuitously, I got a job at Park Hyatt Tokyo, which was brand new at the time, a beautiful hotel, working on the 42nd floor to 52nd floor. It was amazing.”
It was a bold move, but one that defined him. “I was the only foreigner to survive the Japanese kitchens. I couldn’t speak Japanese when I started, but spoke fluently when I left. They also called me Henna Gaijin, which means Crazy Foreigner.”
Nic’s face lights up with quiet amusement at this, but the respect he earned there runs deep. Immersed fully in Japanese culture, he was mentored by masters who saw his dedication and opened doors others hadn’t been allowed through.
“Once I gained their respect and trust it meant I mitigated the traditions of things like ‘you must wash the rice for one year, that’s your job for one year’, or polish the knives, all of that sensei master stuff, so it opened ‘Pandora’s box’ to Japanese cuisine and cooking. They showed me anything and everything… and all I wanted to do was work.”
It wasn’t all work though, and he brightens talking about seeing the Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine play at the base of Mt Fuji with his Japanese friends. “It was nuts,” he says. “Really cool.”
Those two years in Tokyo gave Nic not just technical mastery but a philosophy, of patience, respect and refinement, that continues to underpin everything he creates. It also paved the way for London, where he joined the iconic Nobu group, working alongside some of the most influential chefs of the time. Later, as a founder of Roka, he helped spearhead the brand’s global expansion, from London to Hong Kong, Macau and Arizona.
After years abroad, fate and timing brought Nic home. He was set to move from London to Chicago when September 11 changed everything, grounding travel plans worldwide. Back in New Zealand for what was meant to be a short visit with his parents, he received a spontaneous call about a job at Huka Lodge. “I didn’t plan to stay,” he admits, “but Huka Lodge just has magic.” What began as a brief detour turned into three and a half years as executive chef, a chapter he still looks back on with real fondness.
For someone who’s worked in the world’s most demanding kitchens, Nic radiates a calm, centred energy. When asked what keeps him grounded, his answer is simple. “The beach, yoga, my dog, balance,” he says. “I’m really enjoying flowers at the moment.” He says tulips are his favourite flower, and there’s a quiet sense that they hold a very special memory to him.
Across his career, Nic has moved from young ambition to measured intention. “I have a mantra,” he says. “A passion for flavour, and a dedication to detail. That’s my mantra, and it has been for years.”
And when I ask what advice he’d give to young chefs starting out, he doesn’t hesitate. “Just cook, learn and ask.” It’s this combination, curiosity, humility and unrelenting work ethic, that defines not just Nic’s food, but his character.
As we wrap up, it’s clear that MASU, and all of Nic’s ventures, are more than just restaurants. They’re the culmination of a life spent in pursuit of meaning through craft. From the fresh scallops of his childhood to the smoky perfection of the robata grill, Nic Watt’s story is one of discipline, creativity and heart. He’s proof that sometimes, when you follow your passion with purpose, the fire never goes out.