WHAT’S THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD FOR NIGHTLIFE?

behind the desk. So it arrived just in time for me to take it home. Then I left my passport in the hotel safe and only remembered halfway to the airport. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS WORKED WITH AIRLINES, WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY COULD DO TO MAKE THEIR FOOD NICER? That’s a difficult one — where you have 300 people to serve, the problem is the reheating of the food on the plane. Everything is cooked and chilled at the manufacturing plant, such as Air Chefs in SA, then it gets packed in boxes and loaded onto the plane. The first thing the cabin crew do when they board is switch on the oven — and not to a certain temperature either — and the food just gets cremated. That’s the biggest challenge. Those ovens are strong enough to heat the food in just two hours — they don’t need the extra hour. The worst thing is the breakfast, the scrambled egg and those sausages. I don’t know why they don’t just get rid of it. I will always take the continental breakfast — if they offer one. eat. In Dubai, where I have just been (and you can’t go wrong with the food in Dubai), I go to the souks to eat. I do that all over the world. Where the locals eat is where you get the authentic food of the countries. And that’s where I learn the most. Hong Kong. It’s classy and you can get anything you want. You can experience different cultures in different parts of the city. On the food side, it’s Melbourne, without a doubt. FAVOURITE AIRLINE? I just came back from Istanbul on Turkish Airlines and I was hugely impressed. You get served by a chef. I found that nice. Our profession has evolved so much — 10 years ago, you went into a restaurant and you might see the maître d’ but never the chef. Now you see them everywhere. And it was so nice to see the chef on the airline, not some unsmiling stewardess doing the chicken-beef scenario. I love it. I also like flying with SAA. WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU DO NOT TRAVEL WITHOUT? My credit card. WHAT DO YOU HATE ABOUT HOLIDAYS? Coming home. WHERE NEXT? Thessaloniki in Greece towards the end of the year for a congress. And a lot of quick trips into Africa. Another busy year. I’m looking forward to it. — Interview by Paul Ash