Rick Stein is the British chef, restaurateur and television presenter whose Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 after opening in 1975. Born Christopher Richard Stein on 4 January 1947 in Churchill, Oxfordshire, Stein opened The Seafood Restaurant at the Padstow harbour with his then-wife Jill on 14 April 1975. The restaurant, and the wider Stein Group of Padstow venues that grew around it, has shaped British seafood cookery for half a century and has been the training ground for a generation of chefs including Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ripley and Roy Brett.
Stein television career began with Taste of the Sea in 1995 and has run through more than 15 BBC series including Rick Stein’s Seafood Odyssey (1999), Rick Stein’s Food Heroes (2002-2004), Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes (2007), Rick Stein’s India (2013), Rick Stein’s Long Weekends (2016), Rick Stein’s Road to Mexico (2017), Rick Stein’s Cornwall (2021-present) and Rick Stein’s Food Stories (2024). His Mediterranean Italy series aired in early 2026, continuing his travel-and-food format. The Stein Group operates seven Padstow venues, plus restaurants in Marlborough, Winchester, Barnes and Porthleven.
TL;DR
- British chef and television presenter born 4 January 1947 in Churchill, Oxfordshire
- Opened The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow on 14 April 1975 with then-wife Jill
- 2025: 50th anniversary of The Seafood Restaurant
- BBC television career from 1995 through Food Stories (2024) and Mediterranean Italy (2026)
- Stein Group operates seven Padstow venues plus restaurants in Marlborough, Winchester, Barnes and Porthleven
Rick Stein key facts
| Born | 4 January 1947, Churchill, Oxfordshire, UK |
| Full name | Christopher Richard Stein |
| Nationality | British (English; Stein family is of German origin) |
| Defining restaurant | The Seafood Restaurant, Riverside, Padstow (opened 14 April 1975) |
| Education | Uppingham School; New College, Oxford (English Literature) |
| BBC debut | Taste of the Sea (1995), still his most-cited series |
| Group | Stein Group: seven Padstow venues plus Marlborough, Winchester, Barnes and Porthleven |
Early life and training of Rick Stein
Stein was born Christopher Richard Stein on 4 January 1947 in Churchill, Oxfordshire, the youngest of five children of Eric Stein, a businessman who ran a metalwork company, and Dorothy Stein. The Stein family was of German-Jewish origin and had been in Britain since the nineteenth century. Eric Stein suffered from clinical depression throughout Rick’s childhood and died by suicide in 1964 when Rick was 17. Stein has spoken and written publicly about the loss, including in his 2017 memoir Under a Mackerel Sky, and has described its lasting impact on his own mental health.
Stein was educated at Uppingham School, where he boarded, and then at New College, Oxford, where he read English Literature and graduated in 1969. After Oxford he spent several years travelling, including a period working in Australia on cattle stations and in abattoirs, and in Mexico and the USA. He was not formally trained as a chef. His cooking was largely self-taught, shaped by family holidays to Cornwall at the harbourside inn his parents ran at Trevose, and by his travel years.
In the early 1970s Stein opened a nightclub at Padstow harbour that lost its licence after complaints from local residents. He converted the premises into a bistro, and then on 14 April 1975 reopened it as The Seafood Restaurant, with his then-wife Jill running front-of-house. Jill had trained at the Tante Marie cooking school and brought professional cookery knowledge. The restaurant focused on local Cornish seafood bought directly from Padstow harbour boats, a sourcing model that was unusual in 1970s British cooking and that has remained the foundation of the Stein Group for 50 years.
Rick Stein career timeline
- 4 January 1947: Born in Churchill, Oxfordshire
- 1964: Father Eric Stein dies by suicide when Rick is 17
- 1966-1969: Reads English Literature at New College, Oxford
- Early 1970s: Travels in Australia, Mexico and USA
- Early 1970s: Opens nightclub at Padstow harbour; converts to bistro after licence issues
- 14 April 1975: Opens The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, with then-wife Jill
- 1975: Marries Jill Newstead, who runs front-of-house at the restaurant
- 1988: Publishes English Seafood Cookery, his first book
- 1995: Taste of the Sea premieres on BBC Two, his debut television series
- 1999: Rick Stein’s Seafood Odyssey airs on BBC Two
- 2002-2004: Rick Stein’s Food Heroes trilogy on BBC Two
- 2003: Appointed OBE for services to West Country tourism
- 2007: Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes airs on BBC Two
- 2007: Separates from Jill Stein after 32 years of marriage
- 2011: Marries Australian publicist Sarah Burns (Sas Stein)
- 2013: Rick Stein’s India airs on BBC Two
- 2016: Rick Stein’s Long Weekends on BBC Two
- 2017: Publishes memoir Under a Mackerel Sky
- 2018: Appointed CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours
- 2021: Rick Stein’s Cornwall premieres on BBC Two
- 2024: Rick Stein’s Food Stories TV series launches
- 2025: 50th anniversary of The Seafood Restaurant marked throughout the year
- 25 September 2025: Alumni Chefs Dinner at The Seafood Restaurant with Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ripley and Roy Brett
- 2026: Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Italy series; continuing role at Stein Group
Rick Stein signature style: simple seafood and travel cookery
Stein central argument is that seafood should be bought fresh, sourced directly, and cooked simply with minimal intervention. The Seafood Restaurant menu in Padstow has been built on this principle since 1975: daily-changing dishes based on what Padstow boats brought in that morning, with classical French technique when needed (beurre blanc, lightly poached, grilled with herbs) and a preference for letting the fish speak. The argument has shaped British seafood cookery for 50 years and the Stein approach is cited by most British seafood chefs working today.
The second defining element is the BBC travel-and-food format. Beginning with Taste of the Sea in 1995 and running through Seafood Odyssey, Food Heroes, Mediterranean Escapes, India, Long Weekends, Road to Mexico, Cornwall, Food Stories and Mediterranean Italy, Stein has produced more than 15 BBC series over three decades that combine cookery demonstrations with cultural and historical context and direct contact with local cooks and fishermen. The format has been widely imitated and is one of the two or three defining British food-travel television formats of the post-2000 era.
The third pillar is the Stein Group hospitality operation. Seven venues in Padstow (The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc’s Bistro, Rick Stein’s Cafe, Stein’s Fish and Chips, Stein’s Gift Shop, Stein’s Patisserie, Stein’s Delicatessen) plus restaurants in Marlborough, Winchester, Barnes and Porthleven form one of the largest regionally-concentrated restaurant groups in British hospitality. The group has faced financial challenges in recent years, as UK restaurant-group economics have tightened, but continues to operate as the anchor of Padstow’s seasonal tourism economy.
Notable Rick Stein dishes, books and television
Several Stein signatures have become reference points in British seafood cookery. The Seafood Restaurant bouillabaisse is the defining dish of the menu, a Cornish interpretation of the Marseille fish stew that has been on the menu in various forms since 1975. Fish and chips at Stein’s Fish and Chips on Padstow quayside, hake with salsa verde, cod poached in olive oil, and crab gratin are long-running Padstow dishes. Major books include English Seafood Cookery (1988), Rick Stein’s Seafood (2001), Rick Stein’s Complete Seafood (2008), the Under a Mackerel Sky memoir (2017) and Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes (2007). His BBC series total more than 15 across three decades. Rick Stein’s Food Stories (2024) and Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Italy (2026) are the most recent productions.
Rick Stein awards and recognition
- 1995: Taste of the Sea wins Glenfiddich Award and André Simon Award
- 2003: Appointed OBE for services to West Country tourism
- 2018: Appointed CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours
- Multiple BAFTA nominations and Royal Television Society Awards across the BBC series
- Multiple British Book Award shortlistings for cookbooks
- 2025: 50th anniversary of The Seafood Restaurant marked throughout the year, including the 25 September alumni chefs dinner with Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ripley and Roy Brett
- 2026: Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Italy BBC series airs
Rick Stein impact on British seafood cookery
Stein most concrete contribution is the 50-year run of The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow and the direct-from-the-harbour sourcing model it established. Before 1975 British seafood cooking was typically batter-fried and disconnected from the specific boats landing the fish; Stein model of daily-changing menus based on what that morning’s boats brought in reshaped the category, and most British seafood restaurants working today operate some version of the Stein approach. Padstow itself became a destination because of the restaurant, and the town tourism economy continues to centre on the Stein Group.
The second contribution is the BBC travel-and-food television format. Across 30 years and more than 15 series, Stein has built one of the defining templates for British food television, combining cookery demonstrations with cultural context and direct contact with local cooks. The format parallels in a different register the home-cooking television of Nigella Lawson and the chef-travel television of Jamie Oliver, though Stein has stayed closer to the quieter travel-journalism register throughout.
The third contribution is the Stein Group as a training ground. Over 50 years the Padstow kitchens have trained a generation of British chefs including Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ripley, Roy Brett and many others. The 25 September 2025 alumni chefs dinner at The Seafood Restaurant, marking the 50th anniversary, brought several of them back to the Padstow kitchen. Within the current British-television generation Stein sits alongside Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson as one of the defining television cooks of the post-1995 era.
Rick Stein FAQ
When did Rick Stein open The Seafood Restaurant?
On 14 April 1975, at the Padstow harbour in Cornwall, with his then-wife Jill Stein running front-of-house. The restaurant marked its 50th anniversary in 2025 and is still operating. An alumni chefs dinner on 25 September 2025 brought Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ripley and Roy Brett back to the kitchen to mark the milestone.
How many restaurants does Stein Group have?
The Stein Group operates seven Padstow venues (The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc’s Bistro, Rick Stein’s Cafe, Stein’s Fish and Chips, Stein’s Gift Shop, Stein’s Patisserie, Stein’s Delicatessen) plus restaurants in Marlborough, Winchester, Barnes and Porthleven. The group has faced financial challenges in recent years as UK restaurant-group economics have tightened.
Where does Rick Stein live?
Rick Stein and his second wife Sarah (Sas Stein) divide time between Padstow, Cornwall, and Mollymook on the New South Wales south coast of Australia, where Sas is originally from. Stein has spoken in interviews about the dual-base arrangement and how Australia shapes his seafood thinking.
How many books and BBC series has he made?
More than 25 cookbooks and memoirs across four decades, including English Seafood Cookery (1988) through Rick Stein’s Complete Seafood (2008) and Under a Mackerel Sky (2017). More than 15 BBC television series between 1995 and 2026, from Taste of the Sea through Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Italy (2026).
Is Rick Stein a trained chef?
No. He is largely self-taught and has said in interviews that his cooking education came from his family, his travels in Australia and Mexico in the early 1970s, and the 50 years of running The Seafood Restaurant. His first wife Jill Stein, who trained at Tante Marie cooking school, brought professional cookery knowledge to the early Seafood Restaurant kitchen.
What is next for Rick Stein
Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Italy series airs in 2026, continuing the travel-and-food format. The Stein Group continues to operate the seven Padstow venues plus the Marlborough, Winchester, Barnes and Porthleven restaurants. His public Instagram (@rickstein) is the best source for current updates.
