My passion for Cornwall - Free2Read

NORTH CORNWALL The SeafoodRestaurant inPadstowTV CHEF RICKSTEIN HAS PUTTHE CORNISHFISHING VILLAGEOF PADSTOWFIRMLY ON THEMAP - HERE HEEXPLAINS WHATHAS MADE HIMSO PASSIONATEABOUT THE PLACEAND THE PEOPLEMENTION Cornwallto most folk, andchances are thefirst thing they’llsay back is the nameof Rick Stein.The celebrated chef, who rose tofame on TV with his programmeson seafood cookery in the 80s, issynonymous with the county – afterall, it’s through him that a lot of peoplein the UK and abroad have beenintroduced to Cornwall.And his easy-going yet intenselypassionate style perfectly mirrors thecharacter of his beloved county – thatlife is for living and appreciating. Takeyour time to live every minute – that’sat the core of the Cornish way, andRick’s way.Rick was born and raised inOxfordshire, but his love of Cornwallcomes from many long, hot summerholidays spent there with his familywho eventually moved to Padstow inthe early Seventies.He now divides his time betweenPadstow and Sydney, Australia. Rickand his Australian wife Sarah arek’splacethe guiding lights of “Rick Stein atBannisters” at Mollymook on theSouth Coast of New South Wales,His now world-famous SeafoodRestaurant in Middle Street, Padstow,is a mecca for diners but he also runsthe Cornish Arms pub in the town, StPetroc’s Bistro in New Street as wellas Rick Stein’s Fish & Chips in SouthQuay. He also has The Seafood Bar anda Fish & Chips outlet in Falmouth.He also operates his Seafood Schoolin Padstow, where members of thepublic can sign up for short coursesdesigned to teach them all aspects ofseafood cookery.See the website www.rickstein.com/Seafood-School for details of courses.Here in an exclusive interview withCornwall Tourism Magazine, Rickreveals his passion for Cornwall andhis love of the Cornish traditions thathave fashioned the county’s characterfor thousands of years.‘‘Longsummerholidays inCornwallwere thehighlightof theyear’’Cornwall’s food heaven - traditional pastiesCTM: When you’re not on your culinarytravels, you divide your time betweenCornwall and Sydney. What is it you missmost about Cornwall when you’re inAustralia?RS: I think I’m very lucky in that when Iget back to England Cornwall it’s the bestplace in the world to be and when I getoff the plane in Australia, Sydney is thebest place. I simply switch off, however,I’d love grilled Cornish sea bass when inSydney.CTM: What inspired your passion forCornwall and cookery?RS: In brief, childhood holidays. I livedthe first 18 years of my life in Oxfordshirebut it was the long summer holidays inCornwall that were the highlight of theyear and memories of lovely fresh fish,crab and lobsters.CTM: Cornwall is famed for itsindependent character – giving it a uniquefeel. Do you feel this fierce sense ofidentity when you’re there?RS: Indeed I do funnily enough, onlyyesterday evening I was driving fromPadstow to our pub The Cornish Armsin St Merryn just as the sun was settingand thinking this really doesn’t feel likeEngland.CTM: More and more families are stayingin the UK for their annual holidayswhich means a whole new generationof visitors to the county. What childhoodmemories do you have of family holidaysin Cornwall?Continued over...Cornwall Tourism Magazine in association with www.cornwalltouristpass.com discover the extraordinary 9