Tom Kerridge

One of the most highly regarded chefs in the country, the double Great British Menu winner has earned two Michelin stars for his Marlow pub restaurant The Hand & Flowers. He spoke to Alex Mead

My first ever holiday was to the Isle of Wight.

We had to get on a ferry, so it felt like going abroad. You’d spend your whole time in the arcades, swimming, crabbing and visiting Blackgang Chine. I always remember the Coca-Cola floaters. What’s not to like about coke and vanilla ice cream?

I didn’t have a proper holiday until I was 24.

My wife Beth and I went to a little Greek island called Agistri. It was amazing, there were some beautiful restaurants there and it was so quiet – we spent all day sleeping on the beach and drinking, then we’d go out and enjoy some classic Greek hospitality.

We’ve been to Cyprus every year for the last four years.

I like the people and the style of food there: stuffed vine leaves and anything that involves slow-cooked lamb works for me. We’ve stayed once in the mountains, but for the last few times we’ve been to the Elysium (https://www.elysium-hotel.com/en), just outside Paphos. It’s quite decadent, but we only get away once a year.

They say Singapore is like Asia for beginners.

I went for the first time this year and it’s incredible – so vibrant and alive, you can almost feel it growing around you. The food is something else, and Restaurant Andre (http://www.restaurantandre.com/) blew me away. He did this beautiful dish – foie gras cooked in a bain marie with a warm truffle jelly. So simple, so amazing.

The first time I went long-haul, I visited Bali.

It was for work and I had to cook one dinner but – with none of my own team – it was tough going. That said, the place was stunning. It was at the Alila Soori Villas (http://www.sooribali.com/) and Beth joined me – I cooked, while she read and chilled out! You’d look out of your room and just see a beach, warm sea and palm trees. It was in the middle of nowhere, but in a good way.

I love the micro-breweries in New York.

The beer has so much hop and malt flavour like our ales, but they’re chilled and refreshing like lager. The last time I was over there I went to the Spotted Pig (thespottedpig.com) on the lower west side, I had a lovely chargrilled burger with shoestring fries.

There are two pubs near me that I always eat at.

One is the Hinds Head (http://hindsheadbray.com/) – it’s Heston’s, but nothing like the Fat Duck. Kevin Love is a brilliant chef, rock solid and simple: steak with bone marrow sauce and great Scotch eggs. The other is Dominic Chapman’s Royal Oak (http://www.theroyaloakpaleystreet.com/) – a must for Sunday lunch.

Anthony Demetre is a Jedi Knight of food.

It’s simple cooking but, unless you’re a chef, you don’t really appreciate the complexity and layers of flavour he creates. The last time I was at Arbutus I had a tripe dish, slow-cooked and crispy fried and beefy – it was so good I had to go back three days later. He really is the godfather, there’s nothing that guy doesn’t know about cooking.