Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? This week, Gail Simmons, Top Chef judge and author of Talking with My Mouth Full, shares her favorite destinations and what she never leaves home without.
Name: Gail Simmons
Occupation: Food & Wine Special Projects Director and Bravo Top Chef Judge
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Residence: NYC
Website: GailSimmons.com
Twitter: @GailSimmons
Facebook: Gail Simmons
Short Bio: Gail Simmons is a trained culinary expert, food writer and dynamic television personality. Since the show’s inception, she has lent her expertise as a permanent judge on Bravo’s 2010 Emmy-winning hit series Top Chef, and is host of Top Chef: Just Desserts, its pastry- focused spin-off. Gail joined Food & Wine in 2004 and directs special projects for the magazine. Prior to joining Food & Wine, Gail was the special events manager for Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant empire. She trained in the kitchens of Le Cirque 2000 and Vong restaurants, and worked for esteemed food critic Jeffrey Steingarten at Vogue. Her first book, entitled Talking with My Mouth Full
, was published in February 2012 (Hyperion). She lives in New York with her husband, Jeremy.
How often do you fly: Approximately 3 times a month
How many countries have you been to: Approximately 40
How many continents have you been to: 5 of 7
Favorite American city: NYC or New Orleans
Favorite international city: Tokyo or Barcelona
Least favorite country: None!
Favorite World Heritage Site: Antigua, Guatemala, or the Whitsunday Islands, Australia
Favorite airline: Singapore Airlines
Aisle or window: Window
Favorite airport lounge: Singapore
Favorite international airport: None – who likes airports?!
Favorite hotel: Nam Hai in Hanoi, Vietnam or Blackberry Farm in Wallund, TN
Favorite cruise line: Top Chef the Cruise on Celebrity!
Favorite island: Bali
Favorite fancy restaurant: Daniel (NYC)
Favorite hole in the wall: Quan 94 (aka Thuy Restaurant 94) in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), best crab shack on earth.
Favorite fruit: Mangosteen
Favorite food: Dark chocolate
Least favorite food: Black beans
Drink of choice (In the air and on the ground): It changes weekly, but right now it’s a dark & stormy
Favorite travel movie(s): The Lord of the Rings
trilogy and Lost in Translation
Favorite travel show(s): Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods
Favorite travel book(s): The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway, Life of Pi
by Yann Martel, In a Sunburned Country
by Bill Bryson, Drifters
by James A. Michener
Right now I am reading: Yes, Chef: A Memoir
by Marcus Samuelsson
Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines: Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine
Favorite travel website(s) – besides JohnnyJet.com, of course!: Fathomaway.com
Five things you bring on a plane: Magazines, ipad, a bar of dark chocolate, scarf
What do you always seem to forget: My hairbrush
Favorite travel iPhone app(s): Tripit
Most embarrassing travel moment: Forgetting my passport at home during my book tour between Chicago and Toronto and having to fly back to NYC at the last minute in between to get it….
What’s your dream destination: Argentina, Brazil, Turkey
Favorite travel charity: PackForAPurpose.org
Best travel tip: You can’t plan to be spontaneous, but it’s always those unexpected moments in travel that create the best memories, so remember to allow yourself the time for them. Also, always leave a little room in your suitcase, you never know what treasures you may find along the way.
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