Scott Bridger, head chef, Bib & Tucker. Best recent dining experience: Margaret River Gourmet Escape with Heston Blumenthal - great food and inspiring chefs. There was a definite buzz with so many great chefs and foodies under one roof at Vasse Felix winery. Pat Nourse was MC for the night and really made it all come together. It was great to see all my Rockpool friends cooking again as well. Must-buy ingredient: Manjimup truffle in winter, local white asparagus in summer. Manjimup truffles I believe are the best in the world, I have lived in Italy and France and they're definitely better than the ones I used there. There is a white asparagus grower in Perth now, and we get it so fresh and crunchy. It makes any summer salad shine! Most embarrassing pantry item: Salt and vinegar chips. Most chefs have a vice. Mine is salt and vinegar chips and good cheese, with wine. Can't live without: Homegrown chillis. Cooking in places around the world, I tried many different chillis, and now you can get most varieties in Australia. I have about 10 types growing, including the Dorset Naga, reportedly the hottest in the world. My wife has made me make a chilli garden up high so my kids can't get to them. What I'm cooking at home: Slow-cooked beef short rib with lots of ginger and star anise, Asian greens and coconut rice. Next big thing: Brazilian/ Argentinean styles will be popular this year, especially with the Olympics on the horizon. I hate: Big-corporation fast-food outlets, they are soulless. Favourite cuisine: Mexican, Japanese, Italian, Spanish and the modern trend in Australia. Worst meal I ever ate: My nanna's spam sandwich when I was a kid. I still get shivers when I look at a tin. Biggest culinary influence: Travel would be No 1, Neil Perry, my mum. Favourite cookbook: French Laundry Cookbook - amazing recipes and pictures. My last supper: Beautiful, aged grass-fed beef, West Australian marron and lots of fresh salads, shared with my wife and kids.