My Favourite Holiday Gregg Wallace

Gregg Wallace is the presenter of two of BBC’s biggest hits, MasterChef and Celebrity MasterChef.

He runs his own London restaurants as well as a thriving greengrocer’s business. He’s also designed his own outdoor living range. The Gregg Wallace Firepit & Grill is available from regattafurniture.comGregg has recently shed three stone after going on a diet following his doctor’s warning that he was heading for a heart attack.

He puts his weight loss down to joining WeightWatchers.

I think my favourite place in the world is San Sebastian in the north of Spain.

“You fly into Bilbao and drive there. San Sebastian is stunningly beautiful with the sea on one side and a canal on the other so the old town is in this little porpoise nose sticking out.

“There’s a particular fondness for the British because they helped the Basques defend themselves against Napoleon.

“There’s actually a Napoleonic-era war cemetery up on the hill.

“The old town has narrow medieval streets and I think every eighth or 10th shop is a bar.

“We would call them tapas but they call them pinchos and you wouldn’t believe the quality of the stuff.

“They have crispy pig’s ear, pig’s snout, prawns and lobsters all on the bar and they just put what you want on a plate.

“Most people eat it standing up with a glass of Rioja. I have never been to a place where food, wine and beer are celebrated to such an extent.

“Hopefully I’ll be back again this year. If you’re not from the region the locals will always help you out.

“It’s one of those places that’s not about how much money you’ve got and it’s not about fine dining.

“To them good food is your birthright.

“The other place I love is Italy. If I wasn’t an Englishman I’d be an Italian.

“I’ll be there three times this year and I’m constantly returning. I’m a history buff, I love food and wine and I like my clothes. Nowhere epitomises those three things more than Italy.

“Over there you can have a drink whenever you want but it’s not OK to be drunk. I absolutely love that philosophy. Like San Sebastian, food isn’t expensive, with their pizza and pasta.

“There are huge regional differences in Italy it wasn’t even a country until 1867 when it became a modern nation state with very different dishes everywhere.

“The whole place never ceases to amaze me. It’s the only country I know where whole families get dressed up in the evening to go and get an ice cream.

“There are some places I’m happy to explore again and again.

“There has to be a picture of Florence next to the word decadence in the dictionary.

“You have the most exquisite buildings for everyone to see and so many priceless pieces of art.

“Another place is Lake Como. I believe it is a vision of heaven.

“It’s what you’re going to see when you die. There’s the tranquillity, that beautiful scenery and that clean, crisp air.

“You go to Como and all of a sudden your pulse drops. You walk slower, you eat slower, everything just goes more slowly.

“I’ve never seen a more stunning place.

“I reckon God made the world in six days, had a party, woke up with a bit of a hangover, had a rest, thought ‘I’m gonna create something nice’ and made Como.”