Celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, reveals his holiday hotspots to The Travel Hop
Superstar chef, Jamie Oliver, opens up to The Hop about his hotel 'happy place' and his annual getaway with the boys
WHAT WAS YOUR BEST HOLIDAY?
I hope my wife won’t see this! Once a year I go skiing with my old schoolmates for a boys holiday. We go to Switzerland, Italy or France, rent out a big chalet, and just laugh for a week. We eat well, get up early, ski hard and just talk like teenagers again and pretend we’re not all 40! Friendships are really important and I wouldn’t skip this trip for the world.
Jamie Oliver's 'happy place' - Babington House country house hotel in Somerset, England
HOW ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE HOTEL?
My happy place is Babington House in England - a beautiful old country pad that’s just cool enough without being too cool. It’s part of the Soho House group, which was started by my friend Nick Jones. Every chef that’s ever worked there has been a friend. I feel really happy there, I’ve had many weddings there and also celebrates my wife’s 40th there. I love that place.
Jamie's teenage kids are prone to pinching his noise-cancelling headphones when he travels
WHAT DO YOU ALWAYS TAKE WITH YOU?
My gimp suit’s really important! *jokes* I always take my noise-cancelling headphones, which are an absolute must. Although my teenage kids keep stealing them now, so I had to buy a new pair on my way over on this trip.
One thing that Jamie can't tolerate on a holiday (unsurprisingly!) is bad food
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP INGREDIENTS FOR A GREAT HOLIDAY?
A good sleep, a lie in and good food - I think a holiday with bad food is diabolical!
If I can get into a hammock it normally means I’ve had a good holiday, my four kids occupy a lot of my time! Saying that, we’ve never done a white sand-type holiday because my wife’s afraid of flying. Unless, of course, someone like Brad Pitt asks her to come over, which - when it happened - seemed to make her lose her fear!
BEST PIECE OF TRAVEL ADVICE?
Always tie a piece of really ultra-bright ribbon to your bag so you can identify it - that has helped me so often! Also, get yourself insured, just in case something happens.
Losing his luggage ranks as one of Jamie's worst travel experiences
AND YOUR WORST EXPERIENCE OVERSEAS?
Losing my luggage and then not getting it returned until I got back home. I ended up just buying a load of new stuff, which was good fun, but it’s not great spending ages packing and then having it go walkabout.
HOW ABOUT YOUR BIGGEST PACKING MISTAKE?
As a boy, I’m naturally not very good at packing bags. I don’t try anything on and just throw a load of stuff into my case. So, I’ll often just pack too much stuff. Generally you’ll end you wearing the same two or three outfits every day anyway.
Jamie Oliver tasting his way through the food markets of India
WHERE'S NEXT ON YOUR TRAVELS?
Mexico and then Costa Rica for work too. I really wanna go to Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. I’m also heading to India. There are so many places I want to go!
Jamie’s new book, VEG, is out now. See jamieoliver.com