Phil began his career under the guidance of Tetsuya Wakuda at the iconic Sydney restaurant, Tetsuya’s. He then worked at Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in the Napa Valley before taking the reins as Executive Chef of Rockpool est. 1989 in 2010. Under his leadership, Rockpool was awarded Three Hats by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, Three Stars by Australian Gourmet Traveller and, in 2016, it was named the magazine’s Restaurant of the Year.

Phil Wood recently returned to Sydney from Victoria, where he has been the inaugural Culinary Director of Pt. Leo Estate for the past three and a half years. He is now the Head Chef and Owner of Ursula's Paddington, which he opened in October 2021 in a corner terrace in the heart of Paddington.

Built in the late 19th century as a house and shop, the building served as a pub and then as a grocer’s from the 1920s until the 1950s. First converted to a restaurant in 1968 by D'Arcy Glover who operated a Swiss restaurant, the building was then home to Attilio Marinangeli and Aldo Zuzza’s famous Darcy's Restaurant for almost 40 years from 1975.