Live, Love and Eat Well at Rick Stein’s Place…..

A few years back, on a road trip through Cornwall, we were lucky enough to overnight at Rick Stein’s most iconic and renowned accommodation, a boutique hotel comprising 16 stunning guest rooms perched atop his flagship ‘The Seafood Restaurant‘ in the small Cornish fishing village of Padstow.

In one day/night we enjoyed a sumptuous meal in the restaurant, explored Padstow’s little lanes and harbour and discovered the many reasons why Rick Stein calls this town his home.

Who is Rick Stein you ask….?

He is famed for his many worldly travel/cooking TV series, his 24 cookery books, 4 restaurants in Padstow as well as restaurants in Falmouth, Winchester, Porthleven, Fistral, Sandbanks, Marlborough and Barnes, a cookery school, 4 retail shops and 40 rooms in and around Padstow.

In 2021 Rick also completed a TV series very dear to his heart….”Rick Stein’s Cornwall”.

“I want to tell you what Cornwall means to me,” says Rick Stein about this latest labour of love, in which his nostalgic wanderings take viewers to lesser known locations in Cornwall and introduces us to the everyday folk living in its dinky villages and working along its scenic coastlines.

In each episode, Stein shares a recipe inspired by places he’s been or people he’s met, cooking in kitchens borrowed along the way or in the outdoors.

“When we made the programs in August, September and October of last year (2020)…..we were very lucky the weather was on the whole spectacular and COVID cases in Cornwall were low. You will probably have noticed that most of the series was filmed outdoors including much of the cooking due partly to the need to keep safe.”

But our visit was well before this series went to air, and because we were already Rick Stein fans, we couldn’t wait to stay in one of the beautiful coastal inspired rooms at The Seafood Restaurant (designed by Jill Stein herself) which oozed understated, beachy elegance and featured an expansive rooftop terrace. Once unpacked, we headed straight out onto it to gaze across the picturesque Camel Estuary and watch it’s busy boats and fishermen going about their daily lives ⚓

We explored the little streets and enjoyed the inherent charms of Padstow harbour in the afternoon while sitting on a bench in the crisp, salty air watching village life go by.

Our wanderings took us past quaint fisherman’s cottages with huge resident seagulls perched atop posts and rooftops and into Padstow’s bustling town with its many village stores, cafes and pubs 🍺

We agree that Padstow’s success as one of the UK’s premiere holiday destinations was definitely attributed to it’s beautiful coastline and laidback village atmosphere, but Rick’s ubiquitous presence is without doubt an added drawcard for those of us who know and love this celebrity chef. With no less than 4 restaurants, as many shops, a cookery school and several accommodation options here, an immersion into ‘Padstein’s’ culinary charms is happily unavoidable. 🐟

The ‘Padstein’ Landmarks

1. At the top end of the Rick Stein eating list is The Seafood Restaurant, an award winning internationally renowned celebration of Cornish produce, simple seafood dishes created with locally sourced ingredients and signature classic flavours. The restaurant features a seafood bar at its centre and an upstairs terrace with views overlooking the Camel Estuary.

Originally opened in 1975 as a small harbour-side bistro, The Seafood Restaurant has grown up over the years and matured into the beloved ‘celebration of the Seas’ it is today.

Read more: “The Stein Family Saga: 40 Years of the Seafood Restaurant” The Guardian, 2015

2. Then there’s the Seafood Bar & Fishmongers where you can soak up the atmosphere of a working local fishmonger’s whilst enjoying an array of fresh seafood dishes. Why not go the whole ‘Stein mile’ and enjoy a refreshing Chalky’s Bite beer? The result of a challenge from Rick Stein to Sharp’s Head Brewer, Stuart Howe.

This Belgium style ale is a balance of three different hop varieties and wild Cornish fennel, which produces its own distinctive flavour and a beautiful light golden colour. It is named after Rick’s adored and sometimes tetchy canine companion Chalky, who was by his side in many TV shows over the years. 🐺

3. For those of you who think of Cornish pasties and saffron buns when you hear the word ‘Cornwall’, Rick Stein’s Cafe will satisfy your cravings for a moderately priced, family-friendly traditional style tea and cake or cooked breakfast. Here you can also stayover at Rick’s place in one of the three fresh and contemporary beachy bedrooms located above the cafe itself.

4. Stein’s Fish & Chips overlooks the Camel Estuary and offers an informal dine in or takeaway ‘Chippy’ experience but with Rick’s gourmet flair, featuring hand cut chips, homemade batter, even fresh oysters to chuck yourself!

Check the website for the takeaway menu, order and pay online if you feel like staying snug at home or just turn up to eat out, no booking required.

5. And then there’s Rick Stein’s Cookery School, opened in 2000, which offers a variety of classes with themed menus from around the world, technical advice on every aspect of preparing and serving fish and seafood, tasting evenings, even children’s cookery.

The one day, half-day and evening classes are led by head chef tutor Nick Evans and his team, in a modern, spacious classroom, featuring large screens over the demo area and access to the freshest seafood produce hauled straight from boat and onto the table.

If activities other than cooking and eating appeal to you as well, there are many to choose from here and around Padstow……..why not take up surfing at one of the surf schools, jump on the ferry to Rock Harbour across the estuary, try your hand at fishing like a local, or follow the stunning Padstow coastline on the 17mile Camel Trail by foot or by cycle?

We loved our overnight glimpse of Padstow as we motored around the Cornwall coast and hope to visit again one day, but it has been 6 months since ‘Rick Stein’s Cornwall’ went to air in the UK and sadly travel is still out of reach for many of us due to COVID 19.

So in the meantime, we’ll just have to appease our restless, itchy feet and satisfy our global gastronomic hunger by simply switching on ‘Rick Stein’s Cornwall’ in the digital comfort of our own home and enjoy a guided tour by the man himself as he lovingly explores “an enchanted land”….his beautiful Cornwall.

---

Related Links

Read Rick Stein’s Biography here at thefamouspeople.com