Celebrity chef Rick Stein on Australia’s ‘brilliant’ cuisine and his foodie journey from Venice to Istanbul

Your new book takes us on a foodie journey ‘From Venice to Istanbul’ – what was your favourite meal from the trip?

We were in Croatia and we stopped off at this little fishing village between Split and Dubrovnik, and there was a small taverna on the quayside.

The owner was just opening up for the summer and they didn’t have a menu yet, but they said, “The chef’s making a cuttlefish risotto, do you fancy that?”

He produced this black risotto with lots of cuttlefish ink, and it was the best black risotto I’ve ever had.

But more than that, the atmosphere of the little fishing harbour with nobody there had this sense of privilege for me.

You split your time between the UK and Australia [Stein’s second wife, Sarah Burns, is Australian] – what do you think of our cuisine?

I think it’s brilliant. The raw materials in Australia are so first-class that it’s almost impossible not to produce nice food.

Australian chefs and restaurant hotel staff have an incredible enthusiasm for what they do.

There’s a genuine sort of excitement in your hospitality industry, which I find infectious.

How do you juggle running your life and businesses between the two countries?

With some difficulty, on account of the enormously long way away that Australia is.

I actually enjoy the journey; I don’t enjoy the jet lag.

I have been going [to Australia] about five or six times a year.

I’m one of those people who really loves to travel, so I always feel a sense of optimism when I get on a plane at Heathrow bound for Sydney.

I’ve only recently had my very first oyster; now I’m completely obsessed. You serve oysters from the NSW South Coast at your restaurant, Rick Stein at Bannisters, in Mollymook – what makes a really good oyster?

I think it’s probably just the quality of the water.

And, of course, for me, I always have them in their juice, so I do like the way that in Australia they cut the oysters out and then return them to their shell.

Nothing beats having the oyster still in its liquor, for want of a better word.

Absolutely. So do you believe they’re an aphrodisiac?

I think people who love oysters also tend to love plenty of white wine or Champagne, and that might have something to do with it.

Your TV shows and books showcase the best in the culinary world. What’s the worst meal you’ve ever eaten?

I can think of a particularly bad one in Greece; it was a really poor fish stew.

I don’t think the fish was very fresh, so I didn’t enjoy it.

But the thing that really pissed me off was myself, because the owner of the restaurant recognised me and asked me to write in the guest book about the fish stew I’d just had, and I couldn’t think of anything else to write but “delicious fish stew”.

You continue to work with your ex-wife, restaurateur Jill Stein [after divorcing in 2007], at The Seafood Restaurant, in Cornwall. How do you manage that?

It’s not great working with your ex-wife, I have to say.

It’s remarkable that we’ve managed to do it, and I think the reason we do is because we both put so much effort into building the business.

You were one of the world’s first celebrity chefs – how do you feel about that title?

I’ve learnt to live with it, but I have never thought of myself as a ‘celebrity chef’.

I have just thought of myself as an enthusiastic cook, really.

So would you compare yourself to the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver?

I wouldn’t compare myself, but I do get on with both of them.

Jamie’s very gifted and Gordon has very good manners.

I know, it’s extraordinary, but when you meet him in person, he’s just one of those people that opens doors for ladies.

Do you swear as much as Ramsay in the kitchen?

No!

* Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul (Random House, $55) is out on August 3.

Source: The Daily Telegraph, Alley Pascoe, July 26^th 2015
Originally published as: Celebrity chef Rick Stein on Australia’s ‘brilliant’ cuisine and his foodie journey from Venice to Istanbul