As a chef and restaurateur, I don’t travel looking for ideas. What intrigues me the most, and what refreshes my thinking about food, is to just quietly look at how people do things differently in a restaurant culture that isn’t my own. I’m looking at the whole package: the service, the interior, the cocktails, and the food, of course.

Early this year, I needed an escape, and Los Angeles came to mind instantly, like a dream. I craved the energy and the sense of freedom that makes it such an exciting city. The three of us – my partner, Jo, and son Henry, 6, – travel well together. Our priorities are food and art. So, every day, we visit an art gallery and a restaurant or bar.