TV Chef Rick Stein has put the Cornish village of Padstow firmly on the map - Here he explains what has made him so passionate about the place and people.

 

 

About Rick.

 

Mention Cornwall to most folk and chances are the thing they will say back to you is the name of Rick Stein. The celebrated chef, who rose to fame on TV with his programmes on seafood cookery in the 80s, is synonymous with the county – after all, it’s through him that a lot of people in the UK and abroad have been introduced to Cornwall. And his easy-going yet intensely passionate style perfectly mirrors the character of his beloved county – that life is for living and appreciating. Take your time to live every minute – that’s at the core of the Cornish way, and Rick’s way. Rick was born and raised in Oxfordshire, but his love of Cornwall comes from many long, hot summer holidays spent there with his family who eventually moved to Padstow in the early Seventies.

 

He now divides his time between Padstow and Sydney, Australia where Rick and his Australian wife Sarah are the guiding lights of “Rick Stein at Bannisters ” at Mollymook on the South Coast of New South Wales. But it is Cornwall were he is best known and his now world-famous Seafood Restaurant in Middle Street, Padstow, s a mecca for diners, but he also runs the Cornish Arms pub in the town, St Petroc’s Bistro in New Street as well as Rick Stein’s Fish & Chips in South Quay. He also has The Seafood Bar and a Fish & Chips outlet in Falmouth. He also operates his Seafood School in Padstow, where members of the public can sign up for short courses designed to teach them all aspects of seafood cookery. See his website www.rickstein.com/Seafood-School for details and more information.

 

 

Our exclusive interview with Rick....

 

Here in an exclusive short interview with Cornwall Tourism Magazine, Rick reveals his passion for Cornwall and his love of the Cornish traditions that have fashioned the county’s character for thousands of years.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : When you’re not on your culinary travels, you divide your time between Cornwall and Sydney. What is it you miss most about Cornwall when you’re in Australia?

 

Rick Stein : I think I’m very lucky in that when I get back to England Cornwall it’s the best place in the world to be and when I get off the plane in Australia, Sydney is the best place. I simply switch off, however, I’d love grilled Cornish sea bass when in Sydney, but they are two very different places. The pace in Cornwall is much slower, although it can have it's moments but it is my home so I love coming back here.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : What inspired your passion for Cornwall and cookery?

 

Rick Stein : In brief, childhood holidays. I lived the first years of my life in Oxfordshire but it was the long summer holidays in Cornwall that were the highlight of the year and memories of lovely fresh fish, crab and lobsters. It seemed like a completely different way of life to me and living by the sea gives you a different perspective on things.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : Cornwall is famed for its independent character – giving it a unique feel. Do you feel this fierce sense of identity when you’re there?

 

Rick Stein : Indeed I do funnily enough, only yesterday evening I was driving from Padstow to our pub The Cornish Arms in St Merryn just as the sun was setting and thinking this really doesn't feel like England. Cornwall is unique and because it is right on the tip of England and because of its past and heritage and the fact that it is more or less surrounded by the sea, I think its independence has grown due to circumstance and because we have a certain lifestyle, I think people find it very attractive for those reasons.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : More and more families are staying in the UK for their annual holidays which means a whole new generation of visitors to the county. What childhood memories do you have of family holidays in Cornwall?

 

Rick Stein : It’s extraordinary to me how strongly so many people feel about Cornwall, it’s almost like it’s some lotus land where people don’t really grow old and die and thus in childhood the sun was always shining and the sea was always blue and the pink thrift was always out on the cliff tops. Once you get older of course, your view on life changes, but the feel of Cornwall from my childhood days is most definitely still here so I can understand new people wanting to come here for their holidays.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : When you opened your first restaurant in Padstow how different was Cornwall then to what it is today – in terms of both the way of life and the influx of tourists.

 

Rick Stein : I opened the restaurant in 1975 at a time when the visitors came to Cornwall at Easter and then only for about 16 weeks in the summer and Padstow was very much more a tight knit fishing community in those days. An American journalist friend of mine described it as ‘plug ugly’ which upset me considerably as it was nothing like that. Some 30 years later I reminded him of what he had said and he said ‘it’s not plug ugly now’ and explained why he had said that. What he meant was that there was not a lot of money around in the early ‘70’s and the paintwork was peeling everywhere so it looked ugly. It is different now because we have a strong tourism sector and people come here to enjoy the essence of what we have to offer.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : What made you settle in Padstow?

 

Rick Stein : My family moved to Padstow in 1965 when my father retired.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : Away from the restaurants, what is your favourite way to relax?

 

Rick Stein : I’m somewhat ashamed to say I don’t have a hobby because my favourite way to relax is cooking. But I love swimming too.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine: Which Cornwall dish for you sums up the county in terms of local ingredients and flavours.

 

Rick Stein : The Cornish pasty and it’s heartening to note how much Cornish pasties have improved in the last 20 years.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine: Obviously your success on TV in the 90s caused a huge spike in the popularity of both seafood and Cornwall. You must be excited to have been able to have such an influence on people’s tastes and to have put Cornwall so firmly on the culinary map.

 

Rick Stein : That’s very nice of you to say but I think it was more a case of a growing interest generally in regional cooking and produce, all began to realise that Britain was not a culinary desert after all, I was just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

 

Cornwall Tourism Magazine : How important is it to you to keep the traditions of Cornwall food and cookery alive? Are there up and coming chefs who share your passion - anyone in particular we should look out for in the future coming through the ranks at your restaurants?

 

Rick Stein : The recent recognition of Cornish pasties as a regional specialty which must now come from the county to earn the name Cornish is testimony to the strength of some the local dishes. I’m really encouraged by the way a number of local chefs, most notably Nathan Outlaw, build their whole menu around Cornish produce and on this note, that my son Jack who’s now very influential on our choice of dishes on the menu, is a great advocate of ‘local produce’ and has just opened a development kitchen to look at interesting ways of presenting local produce and dishes.

 

 

 

 

RICK’S son Jack is carrying on the family tradition by rising through the ranks to become a senior member of the team at The Seafood Restaurant and here he shares an exclusive recipe with Cornwall Tourism Magazine readers.

 

PAN FRIED HERRING FILLETS, HOT PICKLED SLAW AND FRIED CAPERS - Serves 2 as a starter

 

INGREDIENTS:

4 x herring fillets

100 ml rice wine or white wine vinegar

25 ml water

½ tsp dashi granules (optional)

1 tb sp vegetable oil

50 g carrot, finely sliced

25 g shallot, finely sliced

2 juniper berries

2 black peppercorns

1 star anise

A sprig of thyme

Small pinch of chilli

Knob of butter

1 tsp capers

A few springs of chervil

Salt to taste

 

Method.....

 

Salt the flesh side of the herring and leave for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, create the pickling liquid by combining the vinegar, water and dashi granules in a pan and warm gently over a low heat. Wash the salt off the herring and lay it on a plate, skin side up and pour over the pickling liquid, so that it covers the flesh side but does not completely submerges the fillets. Leave to pickle for 10 minutes, then remove from the pickling liquid and pat dry, reserving the liquid.

 

Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and fry the capers until crispy, leave to dry on kitchen paper. For the slaw, cut the carrot and shallot into thin strips and place in a pan with the juniper berries, peppercorns, star anise, thyme, chilli and a good pinch of salt. Pour the reserved pickling liquid over the slaw, bring to the boil and take off the heat. Take the herring fillets and fry them skin side down on a moderate heat for 1½ - 2 minutes, add a knob of butter to finish.Once cooked assemble with some of the warm pickled slaw, the fillets of herring, capers and a few sprigs of chervil. De glaze the pan with some of the pickling liquor, reduce briefly, and use to sauce the plate.