Jetsetting with… BBC chef James Martin

SINGAPORE — James Martin is a self-professed homebody. But the British chef and restauranteur does enjoy getting out to sample food when he goes on trips. During a recent visit to Singapore, he told TODAY he likes chilli crab so much that he lists it on his top five best dishes in the world.

The 45-year-old is a stickler for tradition and on his show, James Martin’s Home Comforts, he presents the simplest comfort foods from his home in rural Hampshire.

When asked about his personal comfort food, he explained why you cannot get good fish and chips in Singapore. Where, then, can a gastronomic pilgrim find the best battered fish and fried potatoes in the world? Thank cod Martin is not a selfish kind of guy — he tells you the answer.

Q: Which country have you found to be most inspiring in terms of food and cuisine?

A: I think France is the greatest country in the world for food. It’s certainly the one with the most history. France is unique in the way that they look at their ingredients.

Q: Which are some of your favourite restaurants in Asia?

A: I went to a restaurant (in Hong Kong) called Under Bridge Spicy Crab, and I’ll never forget it. I wanted steamed fresh crab, and we had one that was in a sauce and one that was just steamed crab with lemon. I like simplicity.

Q: What are some Singapore dishes that have interested you, and have you taken inspiration from their flavours in your own cooking?

A: I love Asian ingredients. I cook with them a lot back at home. I absolutely adore crab, so Singapore chilli crab, to me, is right up there in the top five dishes in the world.

I (made) Singapore crab on Home Comforts — I cooked it for Antonio Carluccio. He came for dinner on the show. You’re not going to cook Italian food for an Italian. That’s like me coming over here — why would I want to do anything Asian? You can have all that over here, there’s no point of difference.

Q: What is the comfort food that you crave most when you are in a different country?

A: Fish and chips is my big thing at home. I’ve been known to travel a thousand miles for good fish and chips. You can’t have good fish and chips in Singapore — it won’t happen because it needs to be at least zero degrees and windy, and you need to be by the coast. You have to have cold water. The fish has got to be cod. You have Atlantic cod up here, which you use instead of black cod, and the texture is different.

To get really good potatoes, you’ve got to have cold earth and cold weather. And if you import (British potatoes), it’s not going to be the same ... So, just forget about it. Just move onto something else.

There’s an area in Britain called Whitby, on the east coast. You wouldn’t go swimming in Whitby ... It’s freezing cold. There are areas of the UK that are specific for fish and chips, and that’s one of them. Go to the Magpie Cafe in Whitby. May Seah