The rail deal: explore exotic locations on the Travel Channel

Jonathan Phang has worked an agent for supermodels including Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss and now runs his own beauty agency. He’s also released a cookbook, The Pepperpot Club and hosted a Food Network series called Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook.

Phang was in South Africa this week to launch the series.

It sounds like a dream job being paid to travel between exotic cities on five-star trains, but a bit of perspective suggests that the filming schedule for such a job must come with its own challenges.

Jonathan Phang (JP): The sort of people who go on these trains have wanted to go on them for ages – there are honeymooners; people after a once-in-a-lifetime experience and some rich regulars. But the filming experience is different. It means working 18 hours a day and still trying to get some proper sleep so that you don’t look terrible on camera the next day.

Jonathan Phang hosts the new Travel Channel series
Jonathan Phang‘s Gourmet Trains. Picture: Supplied

But the experience of travelling from one place to another while experiencing the glamour of a bygone era is lovely. These days, transport is just functional – you don’t expect Lalique lampshades on the Tube. So I get why people want to do it, even though I couldn’t necessarily afford to do it myself.

People skills play a huge role in ensuring that you connect with interesting characters as you travel, which in turn makes for good TV. Has your work with challenging clients in the beauty industry helped you develop a confidence and style in this area?

JP: We’re all multi-faceted. On the fashion side, I present people; I make sure they’re seen in the right way. It’s all about experiencing people. Each of them has their individual needs, and being able to figure out what those are and get the most out of the people is important when presenting a travel show.

The show is not just about the trains, though, as you explore the cities you pass through as well, and make the most of the opportunities you have there.

JP: I love a new experience – it’s a nourishing thing. I feel you only live once, and you have to pack it in, so I’m not shy about it. I’m very lucky: I’m a middle-aged bloke who gets taken to amazing places. This opportunity was foisted on me, for which I’m very grateful. I wouldn’t otherwise have gone to somewhere like Istanbul, for instance.

And I chose not to research anything before we left. I didn’t want to act like I knew someone I would only actually meet on the day we filmed the episode. I had a brilliant cameraman who managed to make everything look incredibly smooth, but we were able to get through a lot in the places that we visited.

EATING ON THE GO. Jonathan Phang hosts the new Travel Channel series Jonathan Phang’s Gourmet Trains. Pictures: Supplied.

This is a travel show about a bon viveur whose main interests include food. Will that help to give Jonathan Phang’s Gourmet Trains some crossover value with the Masterchef and Jamie Oliver crowd?

JP: As far as food entertainment is concerned, I think England, where I’m from, is saturated. There, it’s not just on one or two channels – it’s everywhere. Baking and grilling and school lunches and cakes and celebrity chefs and all the rest. So I hope this one offers something new. There’s a lot of food involved.