Chef Dave Wall’s culinary career started modestly flipping burgers whilst travelling the world, at a busy Sydney beach hotel. Those fast-paced days ignited a passion for cooking and after returning to the UK and completing his apprenticeship at a farmer-owned country pub ran by a 3 Michelin star trained chef, he moved to London to chase the bright lights of the capital’s dining scene.  Dave began work for Gordon Ramsay at both The Boxwood Café and Claridges, followed by a formative spell cooking at Bibendum in South Kensington where he quickly climbed the ranks to sous chef.  

Dave’s Suffolk roots beckoned, and he returned home to work at the renowned Le Talbooth on the Essex-Suffolk border for four years, another bastion of classical cooking. Dave had a target of becoming a head chef by the time he was 30 – which he managed to fulfil with no less than a week to spare, taking on the mantle at The Unruly Pig in March 2015. Dave is now the Chef Patron at the Unruly Pig, recently voted number one in the UK Estrella Damm top 50 gastropub list for the second consecutive year, making a total of 3 times topping the list in 4 years. The team at The Unruly Pig were awarded 3 AA rosettes in early 2025. 

‘It was certainly a leap of faith deciding to work with Brendan, this maverick, mad cap lawyer with no history in hospitality, but I really loved his vision for The Pig and his passion for great food. It’s not all been plain sailing, but it has been a whole lot of fun trying to cut a swathe through the Suffolk dining scene’  

Dave is married to his wife Michelle and has two children, Dexter and Ruby.