I try to pack light with a folding leather suit bag. Anything more than five days, I need to check in my luggage. What takes the most space? Chef jackets, aprons and tools.

To me, there's no great chef without a great team.

I'm obsessed with leather jackets!

You'll see some suede and leather jackets out there, but the linings are silk. Everything is about silk.

I try to come to Asia twice a year. I also go to Europe - to London as well as to France to see my family - four or five times a year.

I think in France, for example, we can say whatever we want about the French, but going out and dining is more about the intellectual moment to share with the people you dine with than trying to figure out what the chef did with that little piece of salmon or lobster and all that.