Ainsley Harriott: 'People were stealing toast out of the toaster on my all-inclusive holiday in Greece'
Ainsley Harriott: "Later in life, going back to the Caribbean has also been deeply memorable."
With a career that has taken him from home kitchens in Ready Steady Cook to far-flung corners of the globe, Ainsley Harriott has spent decades discovering the world through food, people and place.
This January, he returned to screens with Ainsley’s Taste of The Bahamas, a new ten-part ITV series exploring the food culture of Nassau and Paradise Island. From childhood adventures across the Atlantic to moments of stillness in Patagonia, he shares his favourite travel experiences.
I think we were really lucky, because my dad was in showbiz. He was a pianist and quite popular at the time, so there was a little bit of money around. I remember being a very young child in 1966 and getting on a plane to New York with my mum, brother and sister, and then going down to Jamaica.
We were away for the whole summer. I just remember finishing school and being told we were getting on a plane. I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited.
Nobody flew in those days. It was BOAC, not British Airways, and we had the most amazing time. My grandparents lived in New York and I remember the big American cabs and the portions of food being huge.
I remember telling my mum a sandwich was as big as my head. Then going on to Jamaica and meeting my cousins. We had a big family house and everyone was together. Climbing coconut trees, chasing chickens, eating fresh mangoes. I haven’t had that kind of gathering since. It gave me a real taste for travel.
I’ve been really lucky with the job I do. I’ve been on television for more than 30 years, and even on my very first gig they sent me halfway around the world to film little travel segments. Because of that, something really has to blow you away to stay with you.
What did that for me was Patagonia in Argentina. I was horse riding there and the landscape was just perfect. Mountains, sky and sea in complete harmony. Everywhere you looked was like a painting. It was so still, so calm, so beautiful.
The only thing I’ve ever experienced that came close was skiing in the mountains, but Patagonia had something extra.
Later in life, going back to the Caribbean has also been deeply memorable. When you walk on a beach and see people who look like you, there’s a sense of belonging. It’s like going home and hearing your own accent again.
I once went on an all-inclusive holiday in Greece that completely surprised me, but not in a good way. I arrived and people were piling their plates with food, leaving half of it behind. People were stealing toast out of the toaster. I was meant to be there for eight days and I left on day two.
That experience taught me that quality matters more than where you go. It doesn’t have to be five-star, but it has to feel like people care about what they’re doing. If you feel that care, it makes all the difference.
London. I live here and I’m still discovering it. I love the diversity, the music, the theatre. It challenges you and it keeps changing. People talk about a woke society, but really it’s just a changing society, and London reflects that better than anywhere else.
If I had to choose another city, Madrid really surprised me. I found it incredibly romantic. I saw so many older couples walking hand in hand, sitting together eating ice cream or churros. It was beautiful. You have to go into cities with open eyes. Some people don’t see what’s right in front of them.
One place I loved was the Coral Reef Hotel in Barbados. It’s quite intimate and not too big, with a lovely beach and a real sense of calm. More recently, I stayed on an island in Cambodia where you had to take a boat to get there. It was full of wildlife and old traditions, with people still travelling by cart while kids zipped past on mopeds with phones. That contrast really stayed with me.
Every time I went to Australia I was blown away by the food. I remember eating at places in Sydney where the fish was incredibly fresh and the meat was just perfect. Not complicated, just beautifully cooked ingredients that worked together. Food should be a pleasure, not something overly serious.
For me, it’s always about the people. Go somewhere local, listen to the laughter, watch how people interact. That tells you everything about a place. Go where the locals go. If you want the best food, find the restaurant that’s full of locals, not tourists.
I’d love to go back to Japan, but this time without filming. I want to slow down, take the bullet train, really engage with the place and the food. When you’re working, you don’t always get to feel a destination properly.
Life is short. Nobody looks back and wishes they’d worked more.
- Ainsley’s Taste of The Bahamas airs on ITV1 from 3 January 2026, with the ten-part series exploring the food, culture and people of Nassau and Paradise Island.
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