Beginning in the 1980s, when figures like Wolfgang Puck and Marco Pierre White ushered in the era of the rock star chef, we've taken an outsize interest in what chefs eat when they're off duty. Anthony Bourdain turned this notion into a second career, of course, and countless shows during the age of peak food TV, from Chef's Table to Ugly Delicious, have cast an eye toward where cooks choose to eat when they're not in the kitchen, considering how these experiences impact their own approach to food. More recently celebrity gourmands including Stanley Tucci and Eva Longoria have gotten in on the act; though, with no disrespect to their wonderful shows, I think many of us are most influenced by the preferences of the masters. We also can't get enough of stories about what chefs whip up at home, which have become a chestnut of lifestyle journalism. Even in fictional universes, like that of The Bear, we're fascinated with what chefs eat outside their own restaurants.
And many of us use this information to plan trips. Which is why, over the past year, Condé Nast Traveler has been running a YouTube series called Where the Chefs Eat, in which some of the most prominent people on the global culinary circuit eat their way through their hometowns, stopping at everywhere from food carts and holes-in-the-wall to elevated fusion restaurants and temples to molecular gastronomy. I was taken, for instance, by the effervescent Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes, a star of the London restaurant scene, who shared his favorite eats in Lisbon (a city I have been dying to return to), including the best spot for bifana, a venerable seafood place, and a young Michelin-listed establishment with a progressive tasting menu that relies heavily on Portugal's small producers.
In this issue we've sought to give you a taste of this series (which you can also experience in article form at cntraveler.com), with stories about where chefs like Eric Ripert, Nancy Silverton, Samin Nosrat, and Enrique Olvera love to eat on the road or at home, along with other chef favorites. Nosrat's recommendations for my native San Francisco made me homesick, especially her endorsement of the legendary Mission District spot La Taqueria, where I remember eating my first lengua taco more than 25 years ago; Ripert's Seoul picks made me want to go back to the city, where I didn't manage to score a reservation at the three-Michelin-starred Mingles on my last visit. I hope that their choices make you hungry, both for your next meal and your next trip.
Besides food, this issue includes looks at a number of mountains (the Dolomites, the upcoming host of the 2026 Winter Olympics; snowy Banff; mystical yet easygoing Bhutan; and rugged Mont Blanc and a special set of features on island getaways in the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Seychelles. 'Tis the season to dream of sitting on a white-sand beach with a good book and a glass of something cold in hand. These three pieces offer surefire suggestions for how to make that warm-weather winter escape both relaxing and memorable.
This article appeared in the December 2025 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
