Australian Gourmet Traveller - (11)November 2019 (1)

Wetookanexcellentvacationover

summer.MywifeLindsayandI took

theboystoGreecefora coupleofweeks.

Lindsay hadneverbeenandshereally

wantedtogotothespotsthateveryone

goesto– Mykonos,Santorini– sowe

didthat.I travelledthroughGreecea

lotwhenI wasyoungersothatwasfun

becauseit wasmeshowingher a little

bit of Europe that I knew.

MyparentsgotdivorcedwhenI wasreally

young.Mydadwouldalwaystakeusto

BatemansBayforhisannualholiday.We’d

stayinthemotelbehindthemainstreet,

oneofthosetypicalAussiemotelswiththe

swimmingpoolinthemiddle.We’dgoto

thelocalpubfordinnera coupleoftimes

a week.Therewasa trampolineonthe

foreshore,whichwasa bighighlight,and

an arcade where we’d play videogames.

MyfirstcoupleofyearsinLondonwere

prettyintense.I wasworkingat theCafé

Royal,whichwasMarcoPierreWhite’s

high-endrestaurant.Therewasn’tmuch

timetotravel.ThenI movedtoMirabelle

andwe’dworkfourdaysandhavethree

daysoff.InLondon,youcouldjustjump

ontheEurostar.Myflatmateat thetime

wasfromBelgiumsowe’dgoandseehis

familyormatesinLeuvenorwe’dgrab

one of those cheap airfares to Europe.

TheplaceI probablythinkaboutthemost

is theGreekislands.It’ssoperfectthere.I

saw it throughtheeyesofanindependent

youngperson.It’sa bitdifferentwhenyou

gobackwithyourfamily.Wespentmore

timewanderingaroundancientGreek

ruins. I didn’t do much of that in my 20s.

I havea love-haterelationshipwithLos

Angeles.I loveit mostofthetime.It’s

a bitlikeSydney.It’sgreatcitytolivein

foralltheobviousreasons– theweather

is perfect,thestandardoflivingis really

good.Therearethingstoloveand

thingstohate.It’sbecominga much

more culturedcity.Foodandcuisineis

becoming a much bigger partofthecity.

SometimesI packdirtyclothesbecauseI

figureI’mgoingtohavetoironit all

anyway.I chuckit allinthelaundry,and

it comesbackironedandpressedand

readytogo.Lindsaylikestobevery

organised.I’mquitefly-by-the-seat-of-my-

pants.I’llshowupwithonepieceof

carry-on.Thekidsaresuperadaptable.

They’veseena lot,and they travel more

than most kids do.

I don’tdoa tonneofresearchwhenI

travel. I want to figure it out as I go.

Curtis

Stone

ThechefonAustralian

motels,packinglightand

his travel bucket list.

TRAVELLING WITH

Foodis alwaysimportanttomeandit’s

a bigpartofwhereverI travel.I’malways

keentofigureoutwhat’sgoingonfood-

wise.I’musuallyhungrysothat’salways

the firstthingI starttalkingandasking

about:where’sthebest place to eat?

I’ll ask everybody.

I reallywanttoseeCostaRica.I’venever

beentoCentralAmerica.I alsohaven’t

beentoKorea,whereLindsay’smum

is from. That's high on my list.●

TodineatStone’sMichelin-star

restaurantMaudeinBeverlyHills,

visit mauderestaurant.com

Justbackfrom...

Torontoforwork.

I’vebeenall

overtheplace;

I wasinSeattle

for a minute.

Nextup...

Homefor

Christmas.We’ll

stayuntiltheNew

Yearandhead

up to Byron Bay.

GOURMET TRAVELLER 41

INTERVIEW JOANNA HUNKIN. PHOTOGRAPHY RAY KACHATORIAN.

How I travel