CELEBRITY INTERVIEW John Torode


The Australian chef, restaurateur and TV presenter discusses his love of culinary adventures, travelling and his homeland. He spoke to Erica Bush


Q. Australia must have a special place in your heart. Tell us about your favourite travel experiences on home turf. The only time I ever really went on holiday as a kid was to a place called Bright, which is up near Mount Buffalo on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. During the winter, it’s icy and cold and a place to go skiing and during the summer, there’s a confluence of rivers that all the kids swim in because the water’s lovely and cool. I love the Barossa in South Australia. It’s got all these cycle paths so you can ride around the whole [valley], which is really good if you’re wine tasting. Manly in Sydney is one of the most wonderful places in the world to swim, and Melbourne’s got an extraordinary food and coffee scene. That’s where I did my chef apprenticeships, so I have fond memories of Melbourne.


You’ve got to


get lost, go to a strange little beach or down a dirt track. That’s how you see a lot more of the world.


“ aspiretravelclub.co.uk


Q. You’ve become a brand ambassador for APT to highlight the Kimberley in Australia. What makes this destination special? The fact that it’s so massive and completely untouched. Through the wet season you can’t live there because it gets flooded, which means that there are no big hotels or huge resorts. When it’s accessible, which is from the end of April to October, it’s the most extraordinary landscape. It’s nearly twice the size of Great Britain, but there’s only a population of 40,000. It’s surprising in its vastness and it’s absolutely beautiful.


Q. Tell us about some more of your favourite travel experiences. I did a film in Argentina for the BBC four years ago where I drove 930 miles from Buenos Aires to Mendoza. I met the most incredible people, rode with gauchos, cooked with people at


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