Running Wild: Three Canadian Chefs take on Southeast Asia

108 ratings
30 October 2011

It was a warm summer’s day, as we sat on the patio having a beer in Takapuna, Auckland, planning another travel adventure — one that was to become an epic, wild journey through Southeast Asia.

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Lyndon Wiebe

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With only days to go before our show premieres on Travel+Escape this week, it’s hard to take in all that is happening in our lives. It really is quite surreal.

The idea for the show all started back in February 2008. It was a warm summer’s day as we sat on the patio having a beer in Takapuna, Auckland, planning another travel adventure. Having traveled together for so many years already, we knew it was possible that this might be our last trip with the three of us before returning back to Canada to try and start a life there again. That prospect scared us. After all, we were road junkies and that would be tough to give up.

This trip had to be a trip to remember – something we would carry with us the rest of our lives. It had to be epic. We didn’t just want it to be another backpacking trip, where all you do is party and hang out with fellow backpackers (not that there is anything wrong with that). Rather, we found that when we did that sort of thing, we were always on the outside of the local culture looking in and never really felt a part of it.

As chefs, we knew that the best way for us to really immerse ourselves and get in touch with the locals was through food and drink. Years of travel had already taught us that food is what brings people together, and that through the simple act of preparing and sharing a meal, you break down all barriers. It was from this simple ideology that Chefs Run Wild was born.

When you’re a chef and you eat something really delicious that someone else has created, you sometimes find yourself dissecting it, flavour by flavour, to learn what makes that particular dish pop. We do this partly due to curiosity, and partly because we want to try and recreate those same flavours in our own kitchens, and keep them to our culinary repertoire. With Chefs Run Wild, we decided to take this idea one step further, by taking a seven-month culinary journey across Asia.

We hope you’ll come along and experience the adventure with us. We also hope to engage with you here at TravelandEscape.ca, whether it’s to ask us any questions about the show or to find out more about what we experienced. We’d love to hear from you.

Run wild with Lyndon, Chad and Clayton as the three trained Canadian chefs cook their way across Southeast Asia in search of authentic regional dishes that shock and delight. The T+E Original Series premieres Nov. 1st at 8pmET/11pm PT. Beware: Not for the lily-livered or squeamish.

Lyndon Wiebe

Lyndon Wiebe was born and bred in Winnipeg before moving to Calgary in 1994. It was in Calgary where he discovered his passion for cooking and food. After graduating high school Lyndon took his $50 VW Rabbit and drove across Canada on a trip that was supposed to last three weeks. Eight months later he finally returned with another passion; travel. He then graduated the Culinary Arts program at S.A.I.T. in Calgary and decided to combine the two things he loved most. After nearly a year of cooking and traveling in Australia, Lyndon took his first trip to Asia. He then spent three years living in Scotland and exploring Europe. In 2005 Lyndon came home to Canada. A year and a half later he reunited with Clayton and Chad in New Zealand for a year, then headed back to Australia before all three chefs embarked on the trip of a lifetime. In documenting their six months of travel across Southeast Asia on a budget of just $30 a day, they created the adrenaline-fuelled culinary and cultural travelogue Chefs Run Wild.