Papa interviewed for www.countrycalling.co.uk

Simon MacDonnell aka Papa, chef and owner of Papadeli in Bristol, (the uber-foodie Papadeli Cafe is housed in the RWA).

I love neighbourhood restaurants – and one of my favourites is Green’s Dining Room on Zetland Road.  2 brothers and their wives run this cosy bistro – food is consistently good and there’s always a warm welcome.

On a summer’s day, the Lido in Clifton is just the place – eat brilliant food while basking the water’s reflections. This is also a superb place for a massage – the masseuse here always get it right and listening to the water lap against the pool sides just perfects the whole experience.  Finish off with a cup of Lahloo rosebud tea – just wonderful.

For a perfect for a lazy day picnic it’s got to be Tyntesfield – just on the outskirts of Bristol – a beautiful National Trust owned property, with stunning kitchen garden & grounds.

My two boys, Tomos and Sam never seem to tire of @Bristol Science Centre.  They spend hours there experimenting on the equipment, watching planetarium shows and getting excited by  scientific explosions.

Bristol’s a thriving place for innovative ideas & speakers – I always love going to the Festival of Ideas to hear interesting and inspirational speakers at St George’s – most recently I went to see Harry Belafonte – a legendary figure that I’ll never forget.

Bristol is an amazing place for theatre – we are absolutely spoilt for choice.  The Old Vic shows are great – favourite are the productions by the Knee High Theatre Company for their hilarious and thought provoking shows.  The Tobacco Factory always has something worth seeing from the sublime to the controversial.  Their children’s shows are not to be missed!

I love walking up to the University of Bristol’s Botanical Gardens near the Downs.  They moved all the plants there some 6 years ago and it’s just a beautiful place to wander around.  I particularly love the Triffid- like pitcher plants that digest whole mice! I’ve never had much time to get into gardening, but walking around here makes me want to start!

Sitting on a balcony, sipping a cold beer makes me feel like I’m abroad – the Royal Academy on The Triangle has a brilliant balcony – having a café there, I don’t get much time to sit up on the balcony – but I always send friends there as it’s the best balcony in Bristol.

I’m not a great one for shopping – my treat is to buy food, and having a deli, I’m lucky enough to be able to do that on a daily basis!  If I do need to shop I love Park Street or Gloucester Road – lots of interesting things to look at interspersed with many opportunities for a coffee break.

On a sunny day (not so numerous at the moment) we’ll drive up to the Quantocks and have a picnic.  I spent my teenage years in Churchill, North Somerset, walking the hills, so love going back there to my favourite haunts.