At 59, Ken Hom, who resides in France but travels tirelessly all over the world, continues to appear regularly as celebrity chef, write new books and keep an involvement with restaurants worldwide. In September 2007, he was awarded with an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University for his ‘outstanding success within the international food world’ and to recognise him as one of the world’s most notable chefs with a highly successful career in the media, as an entrepreneur and as a supporter of charity and education. He has also been appointed as Founding Patron of Oxford Gastronomica, the Centre for Food, Drink and Culture at Oxford Brookes University.

Since September last year, he has become an ambassador for Action Against Hunger, the humanitarian charity which works in over 40 countries helping families to feed their children and build a sustainable life. www.aahuk.org

Widely regarded as one the world’s greatest authorities on oriental cooking, he has just finished filming a documentary on Chinese food, ‘The Noodle Road’, for Korean Television, to be distributed worldwide. He is also involved in developing a number of food and drink concepts in Thailand with the Bandara Hotel Group.

Ken was born in Tucson, Arizona where his Cantonese parents lived after emigrating to American in the 1920's. Moving to Chicago, as he grew up he found American food unpalatable compared to his mother's cooking so she used to send him to school with a flask of hot rice and stir-fried vegetables. Aged 11, he went to work in his uncle's restaurant, where he earned the equivalent of 30 pence per day. At 20 he headed off for California to study art history and French history. To pay for his university fees he started to give cookery lessons and quickly realised that this was where his heart really lay - especially with his native Chinese cuisine. He soon started teaching at the California Culinary Academy (a school for professional chefs in San Francisco). His studies then took him to France where he started to explore gastronomy further.

His first book was about Chinese cookery techniques and this lead to an article in the New York Times which Ken still sees as a turning point in his life. From there, he landed his first television series in 1984 – Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery - which was an instant hit and was transmitted throughout the world, and the book accompanying the series, Foolproof Chinese Cookery, reached a record breaking 350,000 copies. Next year, 2009, sees the 25th anniversary of the book, which has continued to sell through two decades, and is being re-released in a new version. Since that first success, Ken Hom he has written over 30 books, many translated in more than 12 languages, and has presented a further four television series – Hot Chefs, Ken Hom’s Hot Wok, Ken Hom’s Foolproof Chinese Cookery, and Travels with a Hot Wok , which attracted millions of viewers. www.kenhom.com

What was your first holiday in Europe?

In 1971 when I came to Europe with a rucksack on my back and hardly any money slept in youth hostels and parks with my sleeping bag. I loved Europe so much I was determined to live in Europe some day so I do now.

What do you love about Europe?

Favourite hotel?

Worst Hotel?

The Sofitel in Nice. It's expensive, ugly and has the worst views.

Favourite City?

Paris, of course.

Favourite Beach?

In Marseille, it's a lively beach that illustrates all the variety and cultures that now populate Europe.

Favourite Restaurant?

Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, perfect modern French cooking at it's best.

Who / what do you never leave home without?

My Laptop 


What do you never leave Europe without?

The food ingredients such as pasta, Spanish Ham, English Maldon sea salt.

Ferry, ship, plane, train, or car?

Plain Plane is good for me.

What is your worst European travel memory?

When I was a poor student...I had a Eurail pass (a set price for students) and slept on the trains to save on accommodations. I must have been mad, travelling all night from city to city.

Where's next on your list?

Egypt.... It's a place I have always wanted to visit.

Is there somewhere that you have always wanted to visit but never got round to?

After Egypt, Africa, then India.

What is your "golden rule" of travel?

Read as much as you can about the country you are visiting, especially the historical side.

What's keeping you busy at the moment?

Promoting my 25th anniverary BBC book "Ken Hom Chinese Cookery" and my new restaurant: Maison Chin in Bangkok as well as cooking live on BBC Saturday Kitchen in January 2009 for Chinese New Year. All of Which is keeping me out of trouble!