C lare Smyth, the only British female chef to have a restaurant with three Michelin stars, is talking to me at dinnertime, from “the middle of nowhere” in Western Australia. How lovely, a well-deserved holiday, I say. Not exactly. Smyth is working, visiting suppliers before flying on to Oncore, her Sydney restaurant. “I’ve been at a truffle farm – it’s the truffle season now in Australia — and an apple orchard, the one that created Pink Ladies. It’s so interesting, you never realise these things.”

I don’t think Smyth, 43, would be offended at being described as a food nerd. Infamously potatoes feature twice on the tasting menu at her Notting Hill establishment, Core, which opened five years ago this month. Albeit one is a

Registered in England No. 894646. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.