Big stuff and little: learning how to order breakfast in a country where I don't speak the language and haven't been before - that's really satisfying to me. I like that.

I'm not afraid to look like a big, hairy, smelly, foreign devil in Tokyo, though I do my best not to, I really do.

I don't snack. I don't generally eat sweets or drink soda. I never eat between meals or even before big ones.

What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?

If I'm in Rome for only 48 hours, I would consider it a sin against God to not eat cacio e pepe, the most uniquely Roman of pastas, in some crummy little joint where Romans eat. I'd much rather do that than go to the Vatican. That's Rome to me.

I like the fact that Melbourne always seems to support their chefs and promote them in ways I find really admirable.