The dish: Curtis Stone on his favourite places to eat, drink and roadtrip

In the first of a new monthly column, LA-based chef Curtis Stone, shares his favourite ingredients and spots to eat, drink and stay.

Celebrity chef Curtis Stone has relocated to Melbourne with his wife Lindsay Price and their two sons Hudson and Emerson for three months as he gets ready to open a new event space, Grace, in Richmond this November.

Then it's back to life as a frequent flyer, with a base in LA where he runs two restaurants and a schedule that sees him return to Melbourne seven times a year.

It's no wonder he just bought a 24-hectare hobby farm in Malibu, which will allow the family to disconnect from life's fast pace. It's where he plans to get stuck into making wine on the 4.5-hectare vineyard and build a tech kitchen, too.

Stone has also partnered with local designers Cargo Crew to develop a contemporary chef's uniform range in shades such as navy, charcoal and khaki.

I now understand that simplicity when it comes to Mexican food is the key to its success.

Eating in

Signature dish at home

My wife Lindsay loves shellfish and even though I own a butcher shop, her preference is seafood. The best thing to do when cooking is think about who you are cooking for – and for me it's always my wife.

As a chef I get access to some beautiful product from the ocean, so I'll either bring home some lobster or crab from the restaurant and I'll make her some tagliatelle pasta.

1. First, you poach the lobster in 70-degree celsius water for three minutes and remove.
2. Let it rest before you crack and shuck the meat out of the shell.
3. Then take the legs and the head off the lobster and toss it into a pan with garlic, shallots, chilli and lemon zest.
4. Cook that down to extract the flavour with a good splash of white wine and some cherry tomatoes, if they're in season.
5. Cook your pasta separately in salted water. Chop up the lobster meat and add it to the pan, then tip in the pasta when it is done.
6. Season and serve. It's a simple dish and does the trick. Add roasted fennel if it's in season.

My guilty pleasure

It's always tacos. When I moved to the United States, I totally got into them. We have restaurants in Hollywood and right next door is East LA, which I drive through on the way home.

I can't name the spots I visit, but they're on the side of the road and they're $1 a taco. I pull up and get myself an al pastor (grilled slices of pork) or carnitas (pulled pork "little meats"). They are so good.

I now understand that simplicity when it comes to Mexican food is the key to its success. I have developed a taco obsession and it's become a bad habit because when I'm working at the restaurant, I forget to eat and convince myself a taco will do.

Best kitchen wisdom I cling to

I would say editing yourself is super important. My wife is into fashion and always quotes Coco Chanel, who once said: "Look at yourself in the mirror and take one thing off." She always recites that.

I feel the same applies with food. More often than not, when you eat in a restaurant, the problem isn't that it needed one more thing, it's often that it needs one less thing.

You can overcomplicate food from a taste perspective by using complex methods. As long as your technique is solid, simplicity is your best friend in the kitchen.

Eating out

My favourite Melbourne haunts

Postmistress Eatery on Melville Road, Brunswick West, is my favourite place to go in Melbourne. It's a neighbourhood spot and where I eat agnello – it's a thick tube pasta with a rich lamb ragu and pecorino. It is so good. It's not fancy, but very down to earth and authentic.

The Everleigh is a great Melbourne bar and my favourite cocktail to drink there is the Susie Taylor – it's rum, ginger, lime and soda.

I also love Angel Music Bar on Bourke Street. It's a cool crowd, great music and the kind of spot you can chat to the bartenders about what kind of drink you want to make.

I like St. Ali cafe in South Melbourne – in fact, I like it so much I started importing their beans and that's what we grind in our restaurant in LA. They make unbelievable all-day breakfasts and great coffee too, of course.

Attica (on Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea) is still one of my favourite dining experiences in Australia simply because of chef Ben Shewry's use of indigenous ingredients. It's outstanding. When you think of Australia and how unique it is to different parts of the world; that quintessential Aussie dining experience is thanks in large part to what he does. He is a real individual. He cooks sublime food and he's in touch with Australian indigenous ingredients and has respect for the culture. He is one of the loud voices helping shape where we need to be as a country and how much respect we need to show our First Nations people.

My favourite Sydney haunts

Saint Peter: It is an ever-changing menu that does some of the most interesting things with fish anywhere in the world. Chef Josh Niland uses every piece of the fish that other people might see as waste, but not only does he use it, he makes something outstandingly delicious with it. I recently tried an ice-cream he was making with the fish eye that if you hadn't have told me I would have just told you it was a wonderful ice-cream.

Mimi's in Coogee has live seafood tanks and brings in live abalone and lobster. To the best of my knowledge, they were one of the first restaurants to bring the caviar bump to Australia. It is a wonderful Sydney restaurant.

I also love Lode Pies, which is not quite a cafe, but certainly an awesome spot to stop and get some delicious baked goods.

On the road

Favourite food city in the world and favourite places to eat there

It has to be Chicago. The thing I love so much about this city is that you can have some of the best fine-dining experiences, but it's also a great place to get a pizza, or at least their version of a deep-dish pizza, and an incredible hot dog.

A great restaurant you must try is Grant Achatz's Alinea. Also visit Next Restaurant and Roister Restaurant. Avec is a more reasonably priced dinner spot. Virtue is another goodie. Hot dogs are a must at the counter-service spot Gene & Jude's and Jenny's beef deep dish pizza at Pequod's Pizza is amazing. It's a total dive, but the pizza is unbelievable.

I often stay at the boutique hotel The James when I'm town, but who cares where you sleep when there is so much night life to enjoy.