When people ask me about my favorite place in the world to travel to and eat, I always feel like a little embarrassed about giving the first answer that comes to my mind because it's so predictable. But, it's France. France really is the best place in the world to eat, as far as I'm concerned, and the best place to learn about food. It's the passion that they bring to it. It's the attitude in the restaurants. It's the way that everybody in that country is so fanatic about the food. There are other countries where people are fanatic. Italy is a great country for fanaticism. Thailand is a great country for fanaticism. But nowhere in my opinion quite like France. I would love for people to go there and learn about those attitudes and taste what intrinsic quality means.
One of the greatest trips I ever took was to India. There every chef knows how to express themselves with the spices and make it different and layered and complex. So I love traveling to India.The food sensibility in Thailand is incredible. People don't realize that but the Thai's are like the French of Southeast Asia. Fanatics. It's a big part of the culture. And of course, if you like Chinese food, you've got to eat in Hong Kong. Good food is coming back all over China now, but the apotheosis of Cantonese food is Hong Kong. It's absolutely incredible.My big plan over the next five years is to travel more and more in South America. I'm really excited about those food possibilities. I'm going to take it country by country.I never travel without my appetite or a corkscrew.
David Rosengarten
