From World Cook Champion to Lisbon

The short version: an Australian kid who loved cooking ended up winning a global TV competition, then built a restaurant in Lisbon that got into the MICHELIN Guide three years in a row. Here's the longer version.

Growing Up in Australia

Justin Jennings grew up around food — fishing, farming, foraging. The kind of childhood where you understood where ingredients came from before you learned how to cook them properly. He was drawn to professional kitchens early, and by 23 he'd been named Young Chef of the Year in Australia.

That was the start of 20+ years in commercial kitchens. Head chef roles in restaurants and hotels across Australia. A teaching degree so he could pass on what he'd learned. And eventually, a move that took him a long way from home.

Hong Kong — Five Restaurants in Three Months

In 2015, Justin spent time as a chef and consultant in Hong Kong, where he helped open five restaurants in three months. That's an insane pace by anyone's standards. But it sharpened something — an ability to build from nothing, fast, and to adapt his cooking to different cultures and palates.

Hong Kong also deepened his connection to Asian flavours. The techniques, the ingredients, the way balance works in Asian cooking — all of it fed into what would eventually become the Downunder menu.

Settling in Lisbon

After Hong Kong, Justin and his wife settled in Portugal. Lisbon made sense — a city with a thriving food scene, incredible local produce, and a growing international community. In February 2017, Downunder opened its doors on Rua dos Industriais in the Santos neighbourhood.

The concept was simple: modern Australian cooking with Asian influences, using the best Portuguese ingredients available. Kangaroo from Australia. Seafood from the Portuguese coast. Techniques from a career spent cooking across three continents.

It was different from anything else in Lisbon, and that was the point.

The World Cook — Amazon Prime

In 2022, Justin received an invitation to compete in The World Cook — an international cooking competition featuring 15 chefs from around the globe. The format took them through the UK, across Europe, and to a final in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

He won. The inaugural World Cook Champion.

The series premiered on Amazon Prime in December 2022. It brought international attention to a restaurant that had already been quietly building a reputation through word of mouth and TripAdvisor reviews.

MICHELIN — Three Years Running

In 2024, Downunder was selected for the MICHELIN Guide. Then again in 2025. And again in 2026. Three consecutive years of recognition from the inspectors who set the standard for dining worldwide.

It sits alongside a TripAdvisor rating of 4.8 stars from over 717 reviews, ranking Downunder #107 out of more than 5,300 restaurants in Lisbon. For a small restaurant in Santos that doesn't spend money on advertising, those numbers come from one thing: people eating the food and telling others about it.

What Hasn't Changed

The restaurant is still the same size it was in 2017. Justin still cooks every service. The atmosphere is still relaxed — no dress code, no pretence. The menu still changes regularly because that's how cooking should work when you're following the seasons and what's good at the market.

The awards are nice. But the thing that actually matters is that people leave having eaten something they didn't expect to find in Lisbon, and they come back.

UNCHOPPED — The Cookbook

Justin also wrote a cookbook — UNCHOPPED — with over 100 fusion recipes and the stories behind them. It's a good read for anyone interested in where Australian fusion cooking comes from and how to bring some of it into a home kitchen.