This week is a big one. We’re with one of the most acclaimed chefs in the world: American chef Ruthie Rogers of the iconic River Café London.

Ruth Rogers is an award-winning chef, cookbook author of more than 14 books, restaurateur, and the host of the hit podcast Ruthie’s Table 4, now in its fifth season. The podcast features conversations about food and life with an extraordinary cast of guests, many of whom are River Café regulars, including Paul McCartney and Stanley Tucci. Her latest book, Table 4 at The River Cafe: Conversations about Food and Life, was also recently released.

The River Café is one of London’s most influential restaurants, where many of the city’s leading chefs trained. In interviews for The Relisher, almost every London chef has named it as their favorite restaurant in the city.

Below, the Michelin-starred chef reveals all of her favorite places in New York City, including the restaurants she sends chefs and friends to, and so much more. A Google Map with all of the locations mentioned is provided at the end of the interview.

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This week, we’re in Tokyo with Santiago Fernandez, the head chef at two-Michelin-starred MAZ in Tokyo.

Chef Santiago has worked at some of the world’s top restaurants, including three-Michelin-starred Aponiente and Cocina Hermanos Torres in Spain. Following that, he served as Creative Chief at Central in Lima, named the best restaurant in the world. He was later appointed head chef of MAZ (Central’s sister restaurant in Tokyo), and under his leadership, MAZ earned two-Michelin stars shortly after opening.

This is by far my most comprehensive Tokyo edition. You won’t need to do any research on where to eat. It covers everything from the best sushi at every price point to the must-try Japanese dishes and the best places to experience them, and so much more. For me, it’s a phenomenal resource, and if I were planning a trip to Tokyo, I’d use only this.

What makes it even more interesting is that these are the places Santiago takes visiting chefs—an inside look at where the culinary world really eats in Tokyo, and now you can too.
A Google Map with all the locations is included at the end of the article.

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Welcome to The Relisher’s sixth Paris edition! This week, I met with one of Paris’s top young chefs, Maxime Bouttier, the Michelin-starred executive chef of Géosmine.

Maxime began his formal culinary training at just 14 and went on to hone his skills at France’s top restaurants, including the two-starred La Maison d'à Côté, and Gordon Ramsay’s two-starred Le Pressoir d'Argent in Bordeaux. He opened his own restaurant, Géosmine, in February 2023—which earned a Michelin star just 11 months later.

Below, the Parisian chef shares his favorite restaurants, wine bars, boulangeries, and more in Paris (note A Google Map with all his picks is included at the end of the article).

What I loved most about this edition is that Maxime doesn’t just share incredible recommendations—he also gives you a feel for what’s happening in Paris right now. He explains why these places matter, like how bistros are starting to pour wines once reserved for Michelin-starred restaurants. It’s the kind of insight you only get from a chef who’s not just local, but truly part of Paris’s top culinary scene.

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Welcome to The Relisher’s first Zurich edition! This week, I spoke with Heiko Nieder, the two-Michelin-starred chef behind The Restaurant — one of Switzerland’s top dining destinations — at The Dolder Grand Hotel.

Chef Heiko is one of the most important chefs in modern Swiss fine dining. He has led the kitchen at The Dolder Grand for almost two decades, earning two Michelin stars and 19 points in Gault&Millau (one of Europe’s most respected restaurant guides, known for its 20-point scoring system).

Below, the local chef shares his favorite places to eat in Zurich, where to find the city’s best chocolate, and so much more. A Google Map with all of the locations is included at the end of the interview.

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This week, we’re in Bilbao, Spain with Alejandro Serrano, the executive chef behind his Michelin-starred, eponymous restaurant just outside the city.

Alejandro is one of Spain’s most exciting up-and-coming chefs. He became the youngest chef in Spain to earn a Michelin star, and in 2023 he was the only chef chosen by the Spanish royal family to represent his region during the swearing-in of Princess Leonor of Asturias, who is a big fan of his food.

Before opening his own restaurant, Alejandro spent several years working in Spain’s most prestigious kitchens like Azurmendi and DiverXO, both of which hold three stars.

Below, he shares his favorite Bilbao restaurants, the best pintxo bars, the wineries he loves most in La Rioja (one of Spain’s leading wine regions), and more. This is the closest you can get to eating the Basque Country the way a Michelin-starred local chef does. A Google Map is provided at the end of the interview.

A quick planning note: Bilbao is often paired with San Sebastián. If you’re starting there, here’s my San Sebastián edition with one of the city’s top chefs.

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This week, we’re in Paris with Eugénie Béziat, Executive Chef of Michelin-starred L’Espadon at the Ritz Paris. After training in some of France’s leading restaurants, including three-starred Les Prés d’Eugénie and two-starred Restaurant Michel Sarran, she went on to earn her first Michelin star at La Flibuste in Villeneuve-Loubet. She achieved it in just 18 months at a restaurant once led by the Ritz’s very first chef, Auguste Escoffier.

Below, the award-winning chef shares her favorite places in Paris—from her favorite restaurants right now, to where to find the best chocolates and boulangeries, as well as wine bars and more—and the restaurants she recommends to chef friends visiting Paris.

A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview.

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This week is a big one. We’re with Phil Rosenthal! The award-winning creator of the hit CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond and the beloved host of Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil, Rosenthal has spent years traveling the world in search of unforgettable meals. Now in its eighth season, Somebody Feed Phil is Netflix’s longest-running unscripted series, where he travels the globe in search of the world’s best restaurants and cuisines.

Rosenthal is also a two-time New York Times bestselling author. His latest book, Just Try It! Someplace New!, comes out this week!

Below, the culinary icon shares the restaurants he takes friends to when they visit Los Angeles, the best meals of his life, and more.

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This week, we’re in Copenhagen with Eric Kragh Vildgaard, chef and owner of three-Michelin-starred Jordnær, one of only three restaurants in Denmark to hold three stars.

He is one of the fastest chefs in history to go from opening a restaurant to earning three stars. In 2023, Jordnær was awarded Restaurant of the Year by the Danish Dining Guide (Den Danske Spiseguide), and in 2025 it ranked No. 56 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants extended list.

Below, Eric shares the restaurants he takes visiting chefs in Copenhagen, where to eat classic Danish dishes done properly, the best coffee shops and bakeries in the city and more. In short, this is everything you need to eat very well in Copenhagen, from a three-Michelin-star chef.

A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview.

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This week, we’re in Florence with Karime López, the former Executive Chef of Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in Florence.

Karime López has trained in some of the world’s most respected kitchens, including Noma in Copenhagen, Pujol in Mexico City, Mugaritz in Spain, and Central in Lima, Peru.

In 2018, Massimo Bottura invited her to lead the kitchen at Gucci Osteria in Florence, where she served as Executive Chef from 2018 through the end of 2025. Today, her husband, Takahiko Kondo, is the Executive Chef at Gucci Osteria.

Just a year later, in 2019, the restaurant received a Michelin star—making Karime the first Mexican chef to achieve this honor. Most recently, she was named Chef of the Year in Italy and has won numerous Best Chef awards.

Below, the award-winning chef shares the best of Florence that you can fit into one trip:

• Her favorite trattorias and the must-visit restaurants she takes visiting chefs to

• Where she goes for quick bites, from Tuscan sandwiches to pizza

• Where to find the best pastries, gelato, and aperitivo

• Incredible Florence stores you can’t find anywhere else in the world—plus when to visit for the best experience

A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview

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This week we’re in Seoul with Allen Hyunmin Suh, the Executive Chef and owner of two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Allen, in Seoul.

Chef Allen trained under Chef Daniel Humm at New York’s three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, as well as at Per Se and the two-Michelin-starred Daniel in New York. After 17 years of culinary experience, he returned to Korea and opened L’Impression, which earned two Michelin stars within its first year.

In 2021, he launched Restaurant Allen, which received its first Michelin star in its first year and a second star the following year. It was also named to La Liste’s Top 1000 Restaurants Worldwide and Taste of Seoul’s Top 100 Restaurants. Today, Chef Allen is regarded as one of Korea’s leading chefs.

Below, the award-winning chef shares the best of Seoul that you can fit into one trip:

• His personal favorite Korean restaurants

• The must-visit restaurants he takes visiting chefs and friends

• Where to find Seoul’s best coffee shop, tea and traditional Korean desserts

• The one store he always recommends for Korean ceramics

• His insider tips for experiencing Seoul at its very best

A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview.

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This week, we’re in Vienna with Austrian chef Martin Öfner, the executive chef of three-Michelin-starred Zén in Singapore, the sister restaurant to Sweden’s three-Michelin-starred Frantzén in Stockholm.

Chef Martin’s experience is incredibly impressive. He has worked in Europe’s leading three-Michelin-starred restaurants, including Geranium in Copenhagen and Frantzén. Since taking the helm at Zén, Martin has secured major accolades, including No. 79 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026. He has also led the restaurant to become the highest-rated in Singapore on La Liste, the annual ranking that aggregates hundreds of global guides and reviews.

Below, the Austrian chef reveals all of his favorite spots in Vienna.

This was a phenomenal interview. It’s the kind of insight you only get from a three-star chef in Vienna, yet it remains completely accessible. From what he considers the best breakfast in the city, cooked in the same kitchen as a three-star restaurant, to an aged balsamic vinegar used in three-star kitchens in Paris and Japan — these are experiences you simply cannot have anywhere else in the world. A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview.

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Welcome to a very special Paris edition! This week, we’re in the French capital with Arnaud Faye, the executive chef of Le Bristol’s three-Michelin-starred Epicure.

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Arnaud Faye is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France — one of the highest honors a chef can receive, awarded only once every four years to the country’s greatest craftsmen. At Le Bristol, he oversees all of the hotel’s restaurants: Epicure, Michelin-starred 114 Faubourg and Café Antonia.

He is considered one of France’s most important chefs. At just 29, he became Chef of L’Espadon at the Ritz Paris, one of the world’s most iconic hotel dining rooms, where he earned two Michelin stars. He later spent eight years at the legendary Château de la Chèvre d’Or in Èze, where he maintained two Michelin stars year after year.

In this Paris edition, Chef Faye shares all of his favorite spots across the city — the restaurants he loves most, his go-to bakeries and chocolatiers, the places he recommends to chefs visiting Paris, and more. A Google Map with all locations is provided at the end of the interview.

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Welcome to The Relisher’s third Copenhagen Edition! This week I met with Kenneth Foong, the director of Fermentation at three-Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen.

Kenneth is one of only two head chefs at Noma, working directly under René Redzepi, and one of the very few people ever appointed to this role.

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Chef Foong trained in top kitchens across the globe, including the three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York City, before joining Noma in 2018. He was promoted to Head Chef in 2020, during which time the restaurant earned its third Michelin star and claimed the top spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for the fifth time.

Below, the local chef shares his favorite spots in Copenhagen—restaurants, bakeries, wine bars, and more. He also reveals the must-visit restaurants he takes visiting chefs to when they’re in town. A Google Map with all of the locations mentioned is provided at the end of the interview.

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Welcome to the third NYC edition of The Relisher! I have to say—this might be my favorite one yet. This week, I met with Chef Partner Jihan Lee of Nami Nori, the Japanese restaurant known for its open-style temaki, with locations in the West Village, Williamsburg, and Montclair, New Jersey, and Miami, Florida.

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Jihan spent years in some of the city’s most notable kitchens, including Morimoto and Zuma, before joining Kappo Masa under chef Masa Takayama—the only three-Michelin-starred sushi chef in the U.S. He also caters Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton private events in Paris. Most recently, Pharrell became a partner in Nami Nori’s two new Miami locations.

Below, Jihan shares his favorite restaurants in NYC, the best meal he’s had in the city this year, his go-to bars and boutiques, and the spots he’s most excited to try next.

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Welcome to a very special edition of The Relisher! This week, I met with culinary legend Alice Waters, best known as the chef and founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, the restaurant that helped launch the farm-to-table movement and define California cuisine.

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Since Chez Panisse’s opening in 1971, Alice has become one of the most influential figures in American food. She was the first woman to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef in America, has written several acclaimed cookbooks—including Chez Panisse Cooking and The Art of Simple Food. Most recently, she was featured in Netflix’s Chef’s Table: Legends and appeared alongside Meghan Markle in With Love, Meghan during the season finale.

Below, Alice shares her favorite places in the Bay Area—from restaurants and farmers markets to where she grabs a quick bite or a glass of wine—plus her favorite restaurants around the world.

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This week, we’re in Lisbon with Rodolfo Lavrador — the executive chef of Michelin-starred CURA at Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon. Lavrador has become one of Lisbon’s most exciting chefs: he grew up with classic Portuguese cooking, trained abroad, and is now at the helm of one of the city’s most in-demand dining rooms.

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Since taking over the kitchen in early 2025, CURA has maintained its Michelin star and earned a feature in World’s 50 Best Discovery. Most recently, it debuted on La Liste 2026 — the global restaurant index that ranks the world’s top dining destinations using a data-driven scoring system — reaffirming its position among the world’s finest restaurants.

Below, one of Lisbon’s best chefs shares all of his favorite places in the city. What makes this edition special is that Rodolfo takes you to the places Lisbon chefs actually eat — not the obvious spots, but the ones with real character: the sushi counter Portuguese chefs call the best in Europe, the traditional tavern where the squid and pork cheeks are among the city’s best bites, the historic tea shop known for its teas from the Azores — Portugal’s Atlantic islands — and more.

A Google Map with all locations is included at the end of the interview.

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Welcome to The Relisher’s San Sebastián edition! This week, I met with Pablo Loureiro, chef and owner of Casa Urola, a historic restaurant and pintxo bar in San Sebastián’s Old Town. Founded in 1956 and reopened by Pablo in 2012, Casa Urola is today one of the best pintxo bars in San Sebastián.

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Pablo’s cooking has earned him Michelin Guide recommendations and recognition as one of the 15 best restaurants in the Basque Country. Most recently, Casa Urola was also featured on the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil.

In this edition, Pablo shares his favorite places in San Sebastián — from restaurants and pintxo bars to where you’ll find the best Basque cheesecake, along with his must-visit recommendations for first-time travelers. Note: A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview.

What I loved most about this edition is how Pablo takes you deep into the city’s food culture in ways no guidebook ever could. For example, he points you to a restaurant without Michelin stars, yet home to one of Europe’s most extraordinary wine cellars.

He doesn’t stop at restaurants either: Pablo shows you where he shops for wild porcini mushrooms in autumn, the bakery behind San Sebastián’s most historic pastry, and even the perfect wine to drink with the city’s world-famous Basque cheesecake. It’s an insider’s San Sebastián that only a chef could reveal.

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Welcome to The Relisher’s Barcelona edition! This week, I met with Albert Adrià — one of the most influential chefs in the world.

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Albert made his name at elBulli, the legendary restaurant he ran for years before striking out on his own in Barcelona. His restaurants have included the Michelin-starred Tickets, which transformed how the world thinks about tapas, and today Enigma, which holds a Michelin star and is ranked No. 34 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

A five-time winner of The World’s Best Restaurant Award and a member of the Best of the Best Hall of Fame, Albert has also been featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table. He is widely regarded as one of the most creative and important voices in global gastronomy.

Below, he shares the Barcelona restaurants, tapas bars, vermouth bars, markets, and more that he loves most in his city. A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview.

What I loved most about this edition is how Albert takes you to the places chefs and locals adore, but that most travelers would never find on their own.

There’s a vermouth bar where anchovies are still cleaned and de-salted each morning, another where you can taste four different types of jamón ibérico, and a century-old breakfast café where time seems to stand still — the kind of place locals still gather for hot chocolate, churros, and the city’s original Cacaolat. And, of course, he reveals his favorite tapas spots and restaurants.

This is Barcelona seen through the eyes of one of the world’s greatest chefs.

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Welcome to The Relisher’s Los Angeles edition! This week, I met with Niki Nakayama, the acclaimed chef behind n/naka—one of LA’s toughest reservations and a Michelin-starred destination for modern kaiseki with a California twist.

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Her restaurant has been featured on the Los Angeles Times “101 Best Restaurants” list every year since opening in 2013. Nakayama was a James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Chef in 2023, and her culinary journey was profiled in Netflix’s Chef’s Table.

In this LA edition, Niki shares all of her favorite spots — and what I loved most is how she reveals a side of the city you rarely see. Her favorites includes a homestyle Japanese restaurant that feels like you’ve been transported to the countryside, a place for excellent Korean noodles, and what she calls LA’s best burrito. She also talks about the new restaurants she’s excited to try — and more.

At the end of the interview, you’ll also find a Google Map with all the locations she mentions.

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Welcome to The Relisher’s Modena edition! This week I met with Jessica Rosval, who moved to Italy in 2013 to join the team at Osteria Francescana, Massimo Bottura’s three-Michelin-starred icon.

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Today, she is the chef behind Al Gatto Verde, the groundbreaking restaurant inside Casa Maria Luigia—Bottura’s country house just outside the city. The restaurant has earned both a Michelin Red Star and Green Star, and in 2025 landed on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Jessica is also the force behind Roots, a pioneering restaurant and training program for migrant women that has made her one of Italy’s most inspiring chefs.

Below, she reveals her favorite Modena restaurants, where to taste the best balsamic vinegar and Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan) in the world, the city’s most incredible tortellini, and so much more (a Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview).

I especially loved this interview. Jessica doesn’t just list restaurants—she opens a window into Modena’s soul, from the centuries-old barrels where balsamic vinegar ages to the white cows producing the rarest parmesan. Her perspective made me want to book a trip immediately, especially to experience those once-in-a-lifetime flavors at their source.

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