Walter Manzke is a three Michelin-star chef and entrepreneur. He grew up in San Diego, CA, where he graduated in 1992 with a degree in Business and Restaurant Management from Mesa College. After graduating, Walter moved to Los Angeles to work with Joachim Splichal in his now-defunct Pinot Bistro, where he began to develop his signature style. Walter soon left L.A. to work in some of the most renowned kitchens in Europe, including three Michelin-star Alain Ducasse and El Bulli. In 1996, Manzke returned to Los Angeles and spent six-and-a-half years at Patina where he received a three-star review from the Los Angeles Times and met his future wife Margarita.

In 2012, together with Margarita’s sister Ana, the Manzke couple opened the first branch of Wildflour Café + Bakery in Manila, and continue to act as managing partners and strategic advisors to the rapidly growing Philippine restaurant business. The couple also soon after opened their own French-leaning restaurant République in December 2013 along South La Brea Avenue In L.A., which has grown to become one of the most visited and acclaimed food destinations in the area, awarded Los Angeles Magazine’s “Best New Restaurant of 2014” and The Los Angeles Times’ 2nd best restaurant of 2019 among a list of 101 other restaurants, aside from receiving glowing reviews from multiple recognized publications. Expanding their concept repertoire beyond their flagship République, Walter also opened the semi-authentic Mexican-style Petty Cash Taqueria in Beverly in L.A. In 2017, Margarita and Walter opened Sari Sari Store, a Filipino rice bowl stall, in Grand Central Market in Downtown L.A., and in 2020 launched Bicyclette, another Bistro in the Los Angeles area, with plans to open more restaurants across the city in the coming years.