Food Tourist

Where to find the best eats in the world

We ask our six favourite foodies for their global go-to place to find a favourite dish.

1. HAMBURGER IN AMERICA

Nigella Lawson

“It wasn’t until I ate the Black Label burger at the Minetta Tavern in New York’s Greenwich Village that I understood what a hamburger could be. Everyone in New York tells you where the best burger is to be found, but if they don’t direct you straight to the Minetta, then they’re either fools or liars. There’s a regular burger on the menu (for a regular price) but the $26 (£16.50) Black Label Burger will be the best $26 you ever spent in your life. Made from a bespoke blend of dry-aged rib-eye, and topped with caramelised onions, this is the platonic ideal of the patty.”

2. STEAK IN ARGENTINA

Jesus Adorno, director at Le Caprice

“Being from South America, I’m a true carnivore and a few years ago I went to Argentina on holiday where I visited the restaurant, Cabana Las Lilas. They served up the juiciest, most succulent, and perfect ribeye steak and I have never forgotten it. Seeing it arrive on a huge platter at the table took me back to my childhood in Bolivia, having grills and barbecues every week. It’s in an area called Puerto Madero and you can’t miss it because it has two huge stuffed bulls outside – everyone has their picture taken with them. It’s still some of the best meat I’ve ever had.”

3. SEAFOOD IN ITALY

Giorgio Locatelli, Italian chef and owner of Locanda Locatelli

“Go anywhere near the sea in Italy and fish soup will be a staple. It unites Italians but also divides us, because there is so much variation in recipes between the regions. They each depend on the type of fish available and other local ingredients: maybe potatoes or saffron; onions, tomatoes and chilli; garlic and white wine. The best I’ve ever had is the one Vittorio makes in his restaurant da Vittorio in Sicily. It’s like breathing sea air – a broth with a hint of sea water. I can still remember eating it on a cold, windy day in Sicily overlooking the beach with my wife, Plaxy. Magical.”

4. DESSERT IN JAPAN

William Curley, Master chocolatier

“Not many people know that Japan is the dessert centre of the world – the attention to detail is second to none. Eight years ago, my wife and I were visiting her parents in Osaka. They took us to a small suburban restaurant, Ibuki, run by a husband and wife team. I had panna cotta for dessert, but infused with Yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit. It had the most amazing taste, somewhere between mandarin and lemon. It was a turning point for me and opened my mind to other exotic ingredients which I knew I wanted to fuse with chocolate back home. I have since recreated it at my dessert bar in Belgravia.”

Ibuki, 1-6-4 Sembayashi, Osaka

5. CEVICHE IN MEXICO

Thomasina Miers, chef patron of Wahaca

“My most memorable dish abroad was scallop ceviche, which I tasted at Campeche on the Caribbean coast of Mexico about three years ago. We were fed by an incredibly generous local fisherman and his wife in a dirt shack set a couple of hundred meters back from the beach, which you had to get to by a small boat. The dish was bright, refreshing and incredibly fiery, seasoned with locally grown habanero chilli. These are ferociously hot but have an incredible fruitiness that makes the scallops sing.”

6. ROAST CHICKEN IN FRANCE

Diana Henry, award-winning food writer and chef

“The Bistrot du Paradou is a no-frills roadside eatery near St Remy in Provence. There are no tablecloths, no choice on the menu and no wine list. The cook isn’t even a chef, but a man who gave up a job in a bank to open the place. Their roast Bresse chicken with its crisp, salty skin with a side of pommes dauphinoise is daydream-worthy.”

Bistrot du Paradou, 57 Avenue Vallée des Baux, 13520 Paradou; 0033 490 543 270

Tags: food and drink, travel, nigella