Rick Stein facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rick Stein

Born	Christopher Richard Stein (1947-01-04) 4 January 1947 (age 78) Churchill, Oxfordshire, England
Cooking style	Asian, Australian, European
Education	Uppingham School New College, Oxford
Spouse	Jill Stein ​ ​ (m. 1975; div. 2007)​ Sarah Burns ​ (m. 2011)​

Christopher Richard Stein, also known as Rick Stein, is a famous English chef, restaurant owner, writer, and TV presenter. He was born on January 4, 1947. With his first wife, Jill Stein, he built a successful hotel and restaurant business in the UK. This business includes well-known restaurants, shops, and hotels in Padstow, Cornwall. They also have restaurants in other places like Marlborough, Winchester, and Barnes.

Rick Stein is also the main chef and a co-owner of "Rick Stein at Bannisters" restaurants in Mollymook and Port Stephens in Australia. He runs these with his second wife, Sarah. He has written many cookbooks and presented several cooking shows for the BBC.

Rick Stein's Early Life

Rick Stein was born on January 4, 1947, in Churchill, Oxfordshire, England. He grew up on a farm. He went to schools like Wells Court and Uppingham School. After school, he tried a hotel management course. He also worked as a chef for six months.

After a difficult time in his family, when he was 19, he traveled to Australia. There, he worked in different jobs, including at a meat processing plant and a naval dockyard. He also visited New Zealand and Mexico. During this time, he thought a lot about his future. He decided to go to university and was accepted into New College, Oxford. He earned a degree in English in 1971. Soon after, he moved to Padstow, a town by the sea.

Rick Stein's Career in Food

Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant, Padstow

After finishing university, Rick Stein started a nightclub in Padstow with a friend. It was known for its freeze-dried curries. However, the nightclub had to close down. Rick and his friend still had a license for a restaurant in the same building. To avoid losing everything, they decided to focus on the restaurant. Rick used his cooking experience to run the kitchen.

In 1975, he turned it into a small restaurant by the harbor called The Seafood Restaurant. He ran it with his first wife, Jill. As of 2015, his business has grown a lot. It now includes four restaurants, a bistro, a café, a seafood shop, a pastry shop, a gift shop, and a cooking school.

Rick Stein's businesses have had a big impact on Padstow. Some people even call the town "Padstein" because of how much he has helped its economy. In 2009, he bought a traditional pub called The Cornish Arms in a nearby village, St Merryn.

Stein's Patisserie in Padstow

In October 2009, Rick Stein and his second wife, Sarah Burns, opened a new restaurant in Mollymook, Australia. It was called Rick Stein at Bannisters. Rick had always loved the fresh seafood and beautiful coast of Australia. He wanted to open a restaurant there that celebrated local fish and shellfish.

Rick Stein's Café in Padstow

In 2018, they opened a second Rick Stein at Bannisters in Salamander Bay in Port Stephens, Australia.

Rick Stein's TV Shows

Rick Stein is also very popular for his TV cooking shows. He first appeared as a guest chef on other shows. Then, he was offered his own series. His shows often involve him traveling to different places to find the best local foods.

Some of his popular shows include:

• Rick Stein's Taste of the Sea
• Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey
• Rick Stein's French Odyssey
• Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape
• Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey
• Rick Stein's Spain
• Rick Stein's India
• Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul
• Rick Stein's Long Weekends
• Rick Stein's Road to Mexico
• Rick Stein's Secret France
• Rick Stein's Cornwall

Rick Stein's beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Chalky, often joined him on his adventures until Chalky passed away in 2007. Chalky was so popular that a brewery even named two special beers after him!

Rick Stein has also won many awards for his work. These include the Glenfiddich Award for his book English Seafood Cookery in 1989. He was also honored with the OBE in 2003 and the CBE in 2018 for his great contributions to tourism and the economy.

In 2020, his restaurant in Porthleven, Cornwall, had to close permanently because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rick Stein's Personal Life

Stein at a 2006 cookery demonstration in Melbourne, Australia

Rick Stein met his first wife, Jill Newstead, in Padstow. They got married in 1975 and started their restaurant and hotel business together. Rick and Jill have three sons: Edward, Jack, and Charles. All three sons are involved in the family business today.

Rick Stein met Sarah Burns in Australia in 1997. They later married on October 7, 2011.

In 2022, Rick Stein had heart surgery to fix a heart valve. He has since recovered well.

Rick Stein's Restaurants

Rick Stein owns or operates several restaurants. Here are some of them:

Restaurants in England

Restaurants in Australia

Rick Stein's TV Appearances

Rick Stein has appeared in many television shows, mostly about cooking and travel.

• Floyd on Fish, BBC TV, 1985
• Floyd on Food, BBC TV, 1986
• Farmhouse Kitchen, Yorkshire Television, 1989 and 1990
• Taste of the Sea, BBC TV, 1995
• Fruits of the Sea, BBC TV, 1997
• Great Railway Journeys, BBC TV, 1999
• Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey, BBC TV, 1999
• Fresh Food, BBC TV, 1999
• Personal Passions, BBC TV, 1999
• Food and Drink, BBC TV, 1999
• Rick Stein's Seafood Lovers' Guide, BBC TV, 2000
• Friends for Dinner, BBC TV, 2000
• Rick Stein on Fishing, ITV, 2001
• Rick Stein's Food Heroes, BBC TV, 2002
• Rick Stein's Food Heroes, Another Helping, Series 1, BBC TV, October 2003
• Rick Stein's Food Heroes, Another Helping, Series 2, BBC TV, February 2004
• Rick Stein's Fish Love, UKTV Fish, August 2004
• Rick Stein's French Odyssey, BBC TV, May 2005
• Cabin Fever (Behind the scenes of Rick Stein's French Odyssey), BBC TV, Autumn 2005
• Rick Stein's Food Heroes Christmas Special, BBC TV, December 2005
• Betjeman and Me: Rick Stein's Story, August 2006
• Rick Stein and the Japanese Ambassador, BBC Two, 2006
• Rick Stein in Du Maurier Country, BBC Two, May 2007
• Fishy Treats and Simple Eats, Japanese Food Network, Autumn 2007
• Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape, BBC Two, 8 August 2007
• Rick Stein's Memoirs of a Seafood Chef, BBC Two, 7 January 2009
• Who Do You Think You Are?, BBC TV, 16 February 2009
• Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey, BBC Two, July 2009
• Rick Stein's Christmas Odyssey, BBC Two, December 2009
• Rick Stein's Food of the Italian Opera, BBC HD, June 2010
• Rick Stein's Cornish Christmas, BBC Two, December 2010
• Rick Stein's Spain, BBC Two, July 2011
• Rick Stein Tastes The Blues, BBC Four, November 2011
• Rick Stein's Spanish Christmas, BBC Two, December 2011
• Rick Stein's India, BBC Two, June 2013
• Rick Stein's German Bite, BBC Two, August 2013
• Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul, BBC Two, August 2015
• A Cook Abroad, BBC Two, 2 March 2015 (episode 5: Rick Stein's Australia)
• Rick Stein's Taste of Shanghai, BBC Two, February 2016
• Rick Stein's Long Weekends, BBC Two, May 2016
• Rick Stein's Road to Mexico, BBC Two, November 2017
• Talking Books, BBC 2018
• Rick Stein's Secret France, BBC Two, Autumn 2019
• Pointless Celebrities, BBC One, 28 November 2020
• Rick Stein's Cornwall, BBC Two, January 2021
• Rick Stein's Cornwall, Series 2, BBC Two, 2022
• Rick Stein's Cornwall, Series 3, BBC Two, 2023
• Rick Stein’s Food Stories, BBC Two, February 2024

Rick Stein's DVDs and VHS Tapes

Many of Rick Stein's TV shows have been released on DVD or VHS.

• Rick Stein Cooks Fish (1997 VHS)
• Rick Stein's Taste of the Sea (1999 VHS)
• Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey (1999 VHS & 2005 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Seafood Lovers Guide (2001 VHS)
• Rick Stein's Food Heroes (2003 VHS & 2005 DVD)
• Rick Stein's French Odyssey (2007 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes (2009 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey (2010 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Spain (2011 DVD)
• Rick Stein's India (2013 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Venice To Istanbul (2015 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Tastes of the World: From Cornwall to Shanghai (2016 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Long Weekends (2017 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Mexico (2018 DVD)
• Rick Stein's Secret France (2019 DVD)

Rick Stein's Awards

Rick Stein has received many awards for his restaurants and for his own work.

Awards for his Restaurants

• RAC/The Sunday Times Taste of Britain Best Restaurant Award 1984
• Decanter Magazine Restaurant of the Year 1989
• The Good Hotel Guide Cesar Award 1995
• Egon Ronay's Guide Restaurant of the Year 1996
• Hotel & Restaurant Magazine Seafood Restaurant of the Year (multiple years)
• The AA Award – English Seafood Restaurant of the Year Award 2002

Awards for Rick Stein Himself

• The Good Food Award Television and Radio Personality – 1995/1996
• The England for Excellence Awards – Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award – 1988–1998
• Caterer and Hotelkeeper 1999 Chef Award – Chef of the Year The Catey Awards
• AA Guide Chefs' Chef of the Year 1999–2000
• Waterford Wedgwood Hospitality Award – 1999
• The Glenfiddich Trophy – 2001
• The Cornwall Tourist Award – A special award for outstanding services to Cornwall 2002
• OBE – 2003 New Year Honours: For services to tourism in Cornwall
• CatererSearch 100 – 14th most influential chef in UK in 2005
• In 2012, Rick Stein was chosen by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his famous artwork for the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. This celebrated British cultural figures.
• On July 5, 2016, Rick and Jill Stein received a Special Award at the Catey Awards. This was for their more than 41 years of amazing work in the hospitality industry.
• CBE – 2018 New Year Honours: For services to the economy