Daniel Doherty

Pan-rattler in chief at the 40th-floor Duck & Waffle, the UK's highest restaurant, Doherty talks to Mark Sansom about late-night whisky bars, his essential kitchen kit and where he eats for inspiration.

Travel is the ultimate escape from work.

I recently got back from the Galápagos and it has given me a new perspective. Everything from the pace of life to the way the environment is held in such regard really appeals to me.

There are three places in the world I eat for inspiration:

New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo. In Tokyo, I always go to Sushi Dai – it’s the best I’ve had. In Hong Kong, I can’t pronounce the name of anywhere, but it’s the eating culture that stands out. They live to eat, but everyone eats out. When I am in New York, I always go back to Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, ilbucovineria.com – a humble Italian that does humble, classic dishes absolutely perfectly.

When travelling for inspiration, it’s not like I’m hunting for a new ingredient.

I likely wouldn’t be able to get it at home anyway. It’s more the way the restaurant does things. After one trip to Italy, we decided at Duck & Waffle that people don’t want a traditional starter, main and dessert any more. So now I make dishes to nibble and share that work for any time of day.

I’m a big fan of preparing simple food at home.

After a shift, particularly if it has been through the night, I won’t want anything more than toast. Though my wife has been experimenting with new cookbooks lately. She recently made a delicious potato rosti with a broad bean salad. For a good rosti, use a quality non-stick frying pan and as little oil as possible.

I’d describe my food as seasonal British,

but I take cooking techniques from everywhere. We’ll have a look at the ingredients we get in and if it’s best reflected in a Spanish or Italian way, then we’ll cook it like that.

My most popular dish is duck and waffle.

It’s our signature dish and has been on the menu since we opened in 2012. We do 1,000 covers a day here and most groups order it.

The one piece of kitchen kit I can’t live without

is my microplane. It’s cheap and creates ultra-fine shavings of parmesan and vegetables, and is the best at zesting lemons.

The best meal I’ve had recently was at

Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, restaurantsatbains.com, the guy’s food is flawless. He has completely defied the logic that location is everything and good on him. In London, I love eating at Goodman, goodmanrestaurants.com, it’s the best steak in town. I also love Bone Daddies, bonedaddies.com – funnily enough, when I go out for a drink, you’ll find me with Dave from Goodman and Ross from Bone Daddies. We’ll be drinking old fashioneds. Last time we ended up at Satan’s Whiskers in east London – a quality venue for any whisky lovers.