The only chef to hold 19 Michelin stars throughout his career, it comes as no surprise when Alain Ducasse says “Exploring new tastes and flavours is not my job – it’s my passion. For the last 40 years, I’ve been visiting restaurants. And not only restaurants: farmers, stock breeders, market gardeners, fishermen, because this is where good food starts: with great products. I’ve never been disappointed: everywhere in the world, there are passionate producers and talented chefs.” So it’s understandable that the master chef is reluctant to pick only one food destination. “Yes, I confess there is a place which is especially dear to my heart. A secret address I hesitate to throw under spotlights. The cuisine you could eat there expresses the generosity of the soil and of the inhabitants. The region opens onto the Atlantic ocean which offers superb catches and, backed on to the Pyrenees mountains, benefits from exceptional vegetables and pork-based products,” he teases.

”When the weather allows, one can put the table in the garden and enjoy the view on the hills nearby and the ocean in the distance. Guests are laid back, the conversation murmurs pleasantly. Everyone feels relaxed. I know this place very well: this is my house in the Basque country, south-west of France. This is where I cook for my family and my friends. This is where I have the most pleasant breaks, where I recharge and reenergise,” Ducasse continues. The answer is a bit of a cheat, perhaps, but the location certainly sounds worthy of being labelled Alain Ducasse’s number one holiday food destination.

Hong Kong’s local Michelin-starred celebrity chef Uwe Opocensky, of The Mandarin Oriental, finds picking his favourite holiday destination a tricky decision. “I love to travel and there are a lot of different places to choose from, all for different reasons. As a foodie destination it would probably be Spain, England or Germany. Spain is for inspiration, England is for choice of dining and Germany is because of the tradition. But if you were to force me to choose just one destination, I would say San Sebastian in Spain.”

While in San Sebastian, his favourite restaurant is Mugaritz.“I love the style, the ideas and philosophy. The restaurant has ranked in the list of top restaurants in the world for several years, and every time I eat there, the food has been astounding and inspirational,” explains Opocensky. Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz’s clay potatoes were “the first dish I tasted when I first visited four years ago and the memory is still fresh in my mind.”

Asked about his happiest memory of the restaurant, Opocensky explains “Sometimes it's not just the food that makes a spectacular meal, but also the person you're dining with. One meal that really sticks out in my memory was when I was at the end of my time working with Ferran Adrià at El Bulli. As much as I loved being there, it meant a lot of sacrifices and time away from my wife. So, after a long time without seeing her, I went to meet my wife at Barcelona Airport and drove her all the way to San Sebastian for dinner. We had an amazing dinner and planned for our new adventure in Asia.”