Drawn to the cooking world from an early age, Waddington left school in his native Australia at age 15 to pursue his passion. Under the guidance of the North-East Victorian regions culinary giant, Noelle Quinn, he honed his skills at her restaurants Mon Cheri and Zilleon. Feeling the need to spread his wings, Rhy then spent time in Northern Queensland and Melbourne working in a variety of restaurants before accepting an offer to head a kitchen not far from the area he grew up.

Now back in his local area, Rhy found he was drawn to his childhood home and property where he was inspired to open his own restaurant “Waddingons at Kergunyah”. An early innovator of the farm to table philosophy, Rhy’s menus were abundant with ingredients from the surrounding family property. Waddington's at Kergunyah was featured in numerous media publications, including Alpine Style, Country Style, The Age Good Food Guide and Essentials Magazine. 

Having reached success in Australia, Rhy became sought after to serve as Chef at the critically acclaimed Australian venue “Bondi Bar & Kitchen” in San Diego's famous Gaslamp Quarter.  Rhy's innovative culinary creations for Bondi proved such a success, that during his tenure there he was voted as one of the Top Five Chefs in Southern California.

From there Rhy was hired as Executive Sous Chef at the prestigious Winged Foot Golf Club, where his talents were quickly recognized and awarded with a promotion to Executive Chef. It is here where Rhy has implemented a modern approach on classic cuisine to wow the membership. In 2013 Rhy was honored with an invitation to cook at the famed James Beard House in New York City, the first chef from a private club setting to do so. He has since been invited back on three more occasions and has also participated in two Friends of the Beard House benefits.

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