Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife)

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...

, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. The business has a number of renowned restaurants, shops and hotels in

Padstow Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

along with other restaurants in

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and Barnes. He is also the head chef and a co-owner of the "Rick Stein at Bannisters" restaurants in Mollymook and Port Stephens in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, with his second wife, Sarah. He writes cookery books and has presented numerous cookery series for the BBC.

Early years

Of German descent, Christopher Richard Stein was born on 4 January 1947 in

Churchill, Oxfordshire Churchill is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about southwest of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Since 2012 it has been part of the Churchill and Sarsden joint parish counc ...

, to Eric Stein (1908-1965) and Dorothy Gertrude née Jackson (1909-1999). He was born and brought up on a farm. Stein was educated at Wells Court, a preparatory school just outside

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

, then Wells House, the Court's bigger sister-school at Malvern Wells, and then

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

. He took

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

in English, history and geography, but failed all of them. He moved to a

cram school A cram school (colloquially: crammer, test prep, tuition center, or exam factory) is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or university, univer ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, gaining E grades in English and history. Stein partially completed a hotel management traineeship with

British Transport Hotels British Transport Hotels (BTH) was the hotels and catering business of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. Origins of the company Britain's private railway companies pioneered the concept of the railway hotel, initially at loca ...

at its Great Western Royal Hotel in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

. He worked there as a chef for six months. Distraught by his father's suicide, at age 19 he went to

, where he worked as a labourer in an

abattoir In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...

and as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

in a naval dockyard. He travelled to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

around that time to "take some time out". Being on his own, he read widely, reflected on his attitude to education, and applied successfully to

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, where he earned an English degree in 1971. Shortly after that, he moved to

Career

After graduating, Stein converted a mobile disco in Padstow, which he had run as a student, into a quayside nightclub with his friend, Johnny. It became known for its freeze-dried curries. However, the nightclub lost its licence and was closed down by the police, mainly due to frequent brawls with local fishermen. The pair still had a licence for a restaurant in another part of the building, so they continued with that to avoid bankruptcy. Stein ran the kitchen using the experience he had gained as a commis chef. Eventually he converted it into a small harbour-side bistro, The Seafood Restaurant, with his first wife Jill in 1975. , his business operates four restaurants, a bistro, a café, a seafood

delicatessen A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...

, a pâtisserie shop, a gift shop and a cookery school. In 2007, threats against Stein's businesses were made by Cornish nationalists. His impact on the economy of Padstow is such that it has been nicknamed "Padstein". In 2009, Stein made his first acquisition in the nearby village of

St Merryn St Merryn () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about south of the fishing port of Padstow and northeast of the coastal resort of Newquay. The village has a primary schoo ...

, from Padstow, taking over the Cornish Arms public house on the village's outskirts, intending to keep it as a traditional Cornish pub. In October 2009, Stein and his future second wife (fiancée at the time), the publicist Sarah Burns, opened Rick Stein at Bannisters in Mollymook, Australia. Stein said at the time of opening, "Ever since a memorable weekend eating Pambula oysters and flathead in Merimbula in the sixties, I've had the image of the clean blue sea and sweet seafood of the South Coast fixed in my head so when I was introduced to Mollymook about six years ago I knew that one day I would open up a restaurant celebrating local fish and shellfish but keeping it really simple." In 2018, Stein opened a second Rick Stein at Bannisters in Salamander Bay in Port Stephens, with his second wife, Sarah. Stein has become a popular television presenter on food programmes. After appearing once as a guest chef in Keith Floyd's 1985 series ''Floyd on Fish'' and in his 1986 series ''Floyd on Food'', he was offered the chance to present his own series – like the "travelogue" style of cookery show pioneered by Floyd – on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television, using Floyd's producer and director David Pritchard. His shows have included ''Rick Stein's Taste of the Sea'', ''Fruits of the Sea'', ''Seafood Odyssey'', ''Fresh Food'', ''Seafood Lovers' Guide'', ''Food Heroes'', ''French Odyssey'', ''Mediterranean Escapes'', ''Far Eastern Odyssey'', ''Rick Stein's Spain'' and ''Rick Stein's India''. In the last five series, he set out in search of the best in the region's foods. Stein was often accompanied by his Jack Russell Terrier, Chalky, until his death in 2007. So popular was Chalky that Sharp's Brewery named two speciality beers after him. A book has accompanied each series, and Stein's book ''English Seafood Cookery'' won the Glenfiddich Award for Food Book of the Year in 1989. Stein was awarded the OBE in the 2003 New Year Honours for services to tourism in Cornwall and the CBE in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

for services to the economy. On 22 June 2020, it was confirmed that Stein's restaurant in Porthleven,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

would close permanently due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The restaurant had been closed since March 2020. In July 2020, it was announced that chef Michael Caines would take over the restaurant.

Personal life

Rick Stein cooking demonstration in 2006

In 1965, when Stein was 18, his father, a retired managing director of

The Distillers Company The Distillers Company plc was a leading Scotch whisky company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over in 1986 by Guinness & Co. and is now part of Diageo. History The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade ...

, who suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, killed himself by jumping from a cliff near the family's holiday home at

Trevose Head Trevose Head (, meaning ''farm of the wall's headland'') () is a headland on the Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, on the south-western coast of Great Britain. It is situated approximately west of Padstow. The South West Coast Path runs aroun ...

. Stein met his first wife Jill Newstead in

. They married in 1975, both aged 28, and set up their restaurant and hotel business. Stein has three sons with Jill: Edward, Jack, and Charles who are involved in the family business. Stein met Sarah Burns, 20 years his junior, in Australia in 1997, when he was 50. She was also married, and working as a publicity manager for ''Australia Gourmet Traveller'' magazine. Stein and Burns had a secret five-year affair before Jill found out in 2002. She and Stein separated in 2002 and divorced in 2007, but agreed to continue to run the business together. Burns divorced in 2003, and she and Stein married on 7 October 2011. Stein has a brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and a sister, Henrietta. He also has a half-brother, Jeremy, his mother's son from her first marriage. He is the uncle of DJ and music producer Judge Jules, and the artist Lucy Stein. In 2022, Stein underwent open heart surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital to repair a defective heart valve. Appearing live on

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

in October 2023, promoting his book, "Simple Suppers", he shared that his heart surgery experience had inspired his back to basics recipes but he inadvertently used a swear word and the show's host and Stein had to apologise for the error.

Restaurants owned or operated by Rick Stein

England

Australia

Publications

* ''English Seafood Cookery'', 1988 – Glenfiddich Cook Book of the Year 1989 * ''A Beginner's Guide to Seafood'', 1992 (Chapter 4 ''Marine Cuisine Guides'') * ''Beach to Belly'', 1994 (foreword) * ''Taste of the Sea'', 1995 – André Simon Cook Book of the Year 1996 * ''Good Food Award Best Cookery Book'', 1995/1996 * ''Rick Stein Fish, 10 Recipes'', 1996 * ''Fruits of the Sea'' (), 1997 * ''Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey'' (), 1999 * ''Rick Stein's Seafood Lovers' Guide'' (), 2000 * ''Rick Stein's Seafood'', 2001 - ''Gourmand World Cookbook Awards'', 2001 – winner of category: Best Seafood and Fish in English; Best in the World Fish and Seafood (German translation – Gold medal – Gastronomische Akademie Deutschland 2003) * ''My Favourite Seafood Recipes'', 2002 (Marks and Spencer cookery book) * ''Rick Stein's Food Heroes'', 2002 – Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2002 – winner of category: Best Local Cookery Book; Best Cookery Book of the Year in Great Britain / Jacob's Creek World Food Media Awards 2003: Silver for best hardcover recipe book * ''Rick Stein's Guide to the Food Heroes of Britain'' (), 2003 – Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2003 – winner of category: Best Guide * ''Rick Stein's Food Heroes, Another Helping'' (), 2004 * ''Rick Stein's Complete Seafood'' () – winner of the James Beard Foundation Award 2005 for Cook Book of the Year * ''Rick Stein's French Odyssey'' (), 2005 * ''Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes'' (), 2007 * ''Rick Stein Coast to Coast'' (), 2008 * ''Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey'' (), 2009 * ''My Kitchen Table: Rick Stein's 100 Fish and Seafood Recipes'' (), 2011 * ''Rick Stein's Spain'' (), 2011 * ''Rick Stein's India'' (), 2013 * ''Under a Mackerel Sky: A Memoir'' (), 2013 * ''Rick Stein's Long Weekends'' (), 2016 * ''The road to Mexico'' (), 2017 * ''Rick Stein's Secret France'' (), 2019 * ''Rick Stein at Home'' (), 2021 * ''Rick Stein's Simple Suppers'' (), 2023 * ''Rick Stein’s Food Stories'' (), 2024

TV

* ''Floyd on Fish'', BBC TV, 1985 * ''Floyd on Food'', BBC TV, 1986 * ''Farmhouse Kitchen'',

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

, two episodes, 1989 and 1990 * ''Taste of the Sea'', BBC TV, 1995. 6 episodes – Glenfiddich TV Programme of the Year Award, Good Food Award Television Cookery Programme of the Year * ''Fruits of the Sea'', BBC TV, 1997. 8 episodes – Silver Medal World Food Media Awards Adelaide 1997 * ''

Great Railway Journeys ''Great Railway Journeys'', originally titled ''Great Railway Journeys of the World'', is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figu ...

'', BBC TV, 1999 (Los Mochis to Veracruz) * ''Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey'', BBC TV, 1999. 8 episodes – Bronze Medal World Food Media Awards Adelaide 1999 * ''Fresh Food'', BBC TV, 1999. 6 episodes * ''Personal Passions'', BBC TV, 1999 * ''

Food and Drink ''Food and Drink'' is a British television series on BBC Two. First broadcast between 1982 and 2002, it was the first national television programme in the UK to cover the subject of food and drink without cookery and recipe demonstrations. Hi ...

'', BBC TV, 1999 – Gold Award for Best Television Food Segment Within a Show: World Food Media Awards Adelaide 1999 * ''Rick Stein's Seafood Lovers' Guide'', BBC TV, 2000. 8 episodes – Glenfiddich TV Programme of the Year Award 2001 * ''Jacob's Creek World Food Media Awards'': Silver for best Television Food Show * ''Friends for Dinner'', BBC TV, 2000 * ''Rick Stein on Fishing'', ITV, 2001 * ''Rick Stein's Food Heroes'', BBC TV, 2002. 10 episodes – Jacob's Creek World Food Media Awards 2003: Gold for Best Television Food Show * ''Rick Stein's Food Heroes, Another Helping'', Series 1, BBC TV, October 2003. 6 episodes * ''Rick Stein's Food Heroes, Another Helping'', Series 2, BBC TV, February 2004. 8 episodes * ''Rick Stein's Fish Love'', UKTV Fish, August 2004 * ''Rick Stein's French Odyssey'', BBC TV, May 2005. 10 episodes * ''Cabin Fever'' (Behind the scenes and the making of ''Rick Stein's French Odyssey''), BBC TV, Autumn 2005. single 1-hour programme. * ''Rick Stein's Food Heroes Christmas Special'', BBC TV, December 2005. 2 half-hour episodes, also aired as a 1-hour programme. * ''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. 6 episodes * ''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. 6 episodes * ''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. 4 episodes * ''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. 6 episodes * ''Rick Stein's German Bite'', BBC Two, August 2013 (Also referred to as The German Odyssey) * '' Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul'', BBC Two, August 2015. 7 episodes * '' 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. 10 episodes * '' Rick Stein's Road to Mexico'', BBC Two, November 2017. 7 episodes * Talking Books, BBC 2018 * '' Rick Stein's Secret France'', BBC Two, Autumn 2019. 6 episodes * ''Pointless Celebrities'', BBC One, 28 November 2020 * '' Rick Stein's Cornwall'', BBC Two, January 2021. 15 episodes * ''Rick Stein's Cornwall'', Series 2, BBC Two, 2022. 15 episodes * ''Rick Stein's Cornwall'', Series 3, BBC Two, 2023. 10 episodes * ''Rick Stein’s Food Stories'', BBC Two, February 2024. 15 episodes

DVD / VHS

* ''Rick Stein Cooks Fish'' (1997 VHS, re-issued as a bonus on Seafood Odyssey DVD) * ''Rick Stein's Taste of the Sea'' (1999 VHS release of 1995 broadcast) * ''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. DVD release also includes the six episodes of ''Rick Stein's Food Heroes, Another Helping'', Series 1.) * ''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 - a compilation of six individual broadcasts: Rick Stein's Taste of Shanghai, Rick Stein's German Odyssey, Rick Stein & The Japanese Ambassador Rick Stein Tastes the Blues, Rick Stein's Taste of the Italian Opera, Rick Stein's Cornish Christmas) * ''Rick Stein's Long Weekends'' (2017 DVD) * ''Rick Stein's Mexico'' (2018 DVD) * ''Rick Stein's Secret France'' (2019 DVD)

Other awards

For the restaurant: * RAC/''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' 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 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2003 *

The AA AA Limited, trading as The AA, is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, Driver's education, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The association Demut ...

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

– English Seafood Restaurant of the Year Award 2002 For the man: * 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 Waterford Wedgwood plc was an Irish holding company for a group of firms that specialized in the manufacture of high-quality porcelain, bone china and glass products, mostly for use as tableware or home decor. The group was dominated by Irish bu ...

Hospitality Award – 1999 * The Glenfiddich Trophy – 2001 * The

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, Stein was among the British cultural icons selected by pop artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

'' album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of the last six decades. * 5 July 2016, Rick and Jill Stein received the Special Award at the prestigious Catey Awards, for their more than 41 years of outstanding contribution to the hospitality industry. * CBE – 2018 New Year Honours: For services to the economy

References

External links

* *
Interview with Rick Stein
– RadioLIVE New Zealand, June 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Rick 1947 births 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century English businesspeople 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English memoirists Alumni of New College, Oxford BBC television presenters British hoteliers Chefs of French cuisine Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Cornish people English cookbook writers English documentary filmmakers English expatriates in Australia English food writers English people of German descent English restaurateurs English television chefs English television presenters James Beard Foundation Award winners Living people People from Malvern, Worcestershire People educated at Uppingham School People from Oxfordshire (before 1974) People from West Oxfordshire District Restaurant founders Writers from Oxfordshire English male chefs