Rick Stein
Rick is certainly in my top three TV cooks. I feel able to call him by his first name as I once saw the back of his head in his Padstow deli as well as the infamous Jack Russell Chalky (RIP) tied up outside - bosom buddies. Whilst the conquest of Padstein is a bone of contention to some locals and leaves me feeling a little queasy (how long before Ricks Burgers opens on the harbour-front?) I’ll leave that particular bone for the ghost of Chalky to grapple with rather than adding it to my personal cupboard.
His enthusiasm for food is catching, his obsession with ingredients pre-dates the current trendiness for local, seasonal produce - strangely, (for a TV cook) I think he even had a vegetable garden before they became the essential tax-deductible accessory for the celebrity chef. I particularly like his travel programmes, when abroad Ricks passions seem to be amplified and the dialogue and film footage manage to be both evocative and inspirational. I never thought I’d like to travel through France on a barge or drive across Sicily in a Land Rover until I saw RS do it.
Finish all that off with the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, which is the scene of some of my favourite restaurant meals — one can’t ask for much more from a chef.
If you want a fish cookery book, then I don’t think you can go far wrong when choosing one of Ricks…
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