Rick Stein Audiobooks

From Padstow to the page: Under a Mackerel Sky, the chef's own story in his own voice

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Who is Rick Stein?

Rick Stein – born Christopher Richard Stein on 4 January 1947 – is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter, and one of the most familiar figures in British food. With Jill Stein, his business partner and first wife, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business, whose renowned restaurants, shops and hotels have made the town of Padstow a destination in its own right, with further outposts in Winchester and Barnes.

His reach now extends to the other side of the world: he is head chef and co-owner of the Rick Stein at Bannisters restaurants in Mollymook and Port Stephens in Australia, run with his second wife Sarah. Alongside the restaurants he has written a steady stream of cookery books and presented numerous cookery series for the BBC, where an unhurried, story-first style has set him apart from flashier television cooks.

Rick Stein in audiobooks

Stein in audio makes immediate sense: decades in front of BBC cameras have honed a warm, conversational register that transfers naturally to headphones. Our catalogue features Under a Mackerel Sky, and it is the obvious place to start – Stein away from the pass, telling stories rather than plating them, with far more room to breathe than a television slot ever allows.

For UK listeners the appeal is part food, part place: a life spent around kitchens and dining rooms gives the listening a strong sense of somewhere real. Comfort listening in the best sense – generous, unhurried and entirely unpretentious.