Monica Galettion why home for her will always be the islands of Samoa

Immerse yourself in the clear waters, try a bowl of poke-and pack mosquito repellent, says the Masterchef judge

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Where is your favourite destination and why?

It’s Samoa — but I don’t get there enough for obvious reasons. It’s where I was born. There’s something emotional that happens as soon as I touch down there. It takes my breath away, because of the memories. Where you come from, that’s something special. I grew up in New Zealand and I have now officially lived in London for longer but that’s where I will always belong and where I call home. It’s such an underrated place, and it’s changing a lot.

When was the last time you were there, and who were you with?

I am supposed to go this year, hopefully in December. I was meant to be there for the Commonwealth Tour this week but things with family have meant that I cannot go. It’s been 10 years since I was last home but I still have a lot of family there, and my dad retired there four years ago to a house he had built. So we now have a family home there which I haven’t even seen. The last time I was there, my mum was getting her Samoan title, she was becoming head of our family. It’s a very big thing, so it was a special trip. In every family there is a chief, who acts as representative of the family. There are certain levels of chiefdom within a family — the biggest chiefs, who are orators and only they can speak publicly, then the smaller ones. Imagine you have a village and five households. There would be a main chief, and the heads of those five households would answer to, and speak to them. My dad’s village is called Malie, my mother’s is called Fatoia. I’ll be going to both when I go back.

Where do you like to stay there?

I normally stay with family but there’s an amazing hotel called Le Lagoto. On the Upolu island, there’s a place where the King will be staying, called Sinalei Reef Resort.

What has been your favourite meal there?