TRAVEL BITES

South African-born chef Nick Honeyman, owner of French-inspired Auckland restaurant Paris Butter, serves up his most memorable overseas meal, a must-visit destination, and his go-to holiday reading.

Chef Nick Honeyman shares his travel tips and memories.

dish: When you are overseas on holiday, or for work, how do you pick a place to eat? A mix of research, recommendations and gut instinct. Wherever we go we walk a lot, so unless there was a must-visit, most of the time we don’t have a plan, we just stop somewhere. Tripadvisor is actually a great tool to find consistent places around the world; they might not blow your mind but hundreds of people can’t be wrong...

dish: If you could only pack five items – apart from the essentials – what would they be? Flip-flops, swimmers, phone charger, bottle opener and dummy for our baby daughter Nika [nearly one].

dish: Can you tell us about a memorable holiday meal/eating experience?

Troisgros [in the Loire, France]. And my wife Sina picked a restaurant for dinner, Emma Wolf in Mannheim, Germany, close to her home town. I was expecting nothing special but it was one of the more inspirational meals of my life. The chef and I have become friends and are even planning a pop-up dinner next May. He took us to a few restaurants in rural Germany that blew my mind. Long story short, you can find inspiration everywhere.

dish: Your next ‘must-visit’ destination?

I really want to go to Mexico. And South Africa – taking my wife and daughter home.

dish: Any travel book/podcast recommendations?

Has to be Anthony Bourdain.

dish: What’s your idea of a perfect holiday? Eat good food, discover something new, drink good wine, spend time with my family, be inspired.

dish: Any travel disasters?

Yesterday. Tokyo has two airports; I didn’t realise we were leaving from a different one than when we arrived. But we made it!

dish: Who – past or present – would be your ideal travel companion?

Nika. dish: If there’s one place you’ve visited you could see yourself living, where would it be and why?

My life has changed, the things I thought were important aren’t that important anymore. I could imagine living anywhere – especially as my little family isn’t tied down by school yet.

dish: If you could stay anywhere, money no object, where would it be?

A small beach town in Europe with crystalclear water and scorching sun.