FIRST IMPRESSIONS: RICK STEIN
What are you working on at the moment?
My memoirs, which are going to be called Under A Mackerel Sky.
When were you at your happiest?
I’m pretty happy at the moment. My life’s slightly too busy, but that’s what I like. I’m recently married – my second marriage is to Sarah.
What is your greatest fear?
One of my children not surviving me. Chancellor Bismarck was asked about the best thing that happened to him. He answered that he was nearing the end of his days and all of his children were still alive.
What is your earliest memory?
Being carried by my mother. We came to a gate in some woods and saw two pigs. I remember the pigs and the green of the trees.
Who has been your greatest influence?
David Pritchard, the TV director who I’ve worked with for 20 years. It’s a fantastic relationship.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
My pathetic need to be liked, but also my inability to make decisions immediately.
What is your most treasured possession?
I’ve managed to hang on to a fish filleting knife that I used throughout my cooking days. I don’t cook regularly in a restaurant any more but it’s the one I’ve used for 25 years.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
I recently interviewed the Dalai Lama. He always tries to see the best in people and if he’s not getting the best, he tries to understand why. So I’m trying, from his example, not to see the worst in anybody.
Do you have a fantasy address?
I’ve got a house in Sydney and a house in Padstow, but I’d love a place somewhere in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, because that part of France is perfection in terms of climate, cuisine and availability of lovely produce.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
The fact that I’m bald.
What is your favourite book?
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
What is your favourite film?
Das Boot.
What is your favourite record or piece of music?
An opera by Richard Strauss called Daphne. I can’t understand how anybody can have the genius to write that sort of music.
What is your favourite meal?
The fish curry I had on the coast of Tamil Nadu, but it depends on where you are, how you feel or who you’re with. I also really like German sausages with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes, mustard and a glass of beer.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Helen Mirren, my wife Sarah, and Simon Hopkinson.
Which historical character do you most admire?
There is a late 18th-century French writer, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who wrote a book called The Physiology Of Taste. I like it because he tried to turn the subject of eating and taste into a science and to establish what it is about sitting down and eating with other people that is so special.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Somebody came up to me in a shop in Sydney and said, as a sort of backhanded compliment, ‘I always thought all your programmes were rubbish, but the newest one is all right.’
Do you believe in aliens?
No. I believe people who believe in aliens have far too much spare time on their hands.
What is your secret vice?
I waste far too much precious time looking on the internet for gadgets. It’s a vice I share with my son, Jack. We’ve just been filming in Germany and I stopped at the services and bought three different plugs for phones, none of which I really need.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Not often enough, although I do if I remember.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘I really, really like that.’
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A bit more exercise.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘He was an OK cook.’
Rick Stein’s India is on BBC Two on Monday at 9pm. The accompanying book of the same name, is published by BBC Books, priced £25.
My memoirs, which are going to be called Under A Mackerel Sky.
When were you at your happiest?
I’m pretty happy at the moment. My life’s slightly too busy, but that’s what I like. I’m recently married – my second marriage is to Sarah.
What is your greatest fear?
One of my children not surviving me. Chancellor Bismarck was asked about the best thing that happened to him. He answered that he was nearing the end of his days and all of his children were still alive.
What is your earliest memory?
Being carried by my mother. We came to a gate in some woods and saw two pigs. I remember the pigs and the green of the trees.
Who has been your greatest influence?
David Pritchard, the TV director who I’ve worked with for 20 years. It’s a fantastic relationship.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
My pathetic need to be liked, but also my inability to make decisions immediately.
What is your most treasured possession?
I’ve managed to hang on to a fish filleting knife that I used throughout my cooking days. I don’t cook regularly in a restaurant any more but it’s the one I’ve used for 25 years.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
I recently interviewed the Dalai Lama. He always tries to see the best in people and if he’s not getting the best, he tries to understand why. So I’m trying, from his example, not to see the worst in anybody.
Do you have a fantasy address?
I’ve got a house in Sydney and a house in Padstow, but I’d love a place somewhere in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, because that part of France is perfection in terms of climate, cuisine and availability of lovely produce.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
The fact that I’m bald.
What is your favourite book?
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
What is your favourite film?
Das Boot.
What is your favourite record or piece of music?
An opera by Richard Strauss called Daphne. I can’t understand how anybody can have the genius to write that sort of music.
What is your favourite meal?
The fish curry I had on the coast of Tamil Nadu, but it depends on where you are, how you feel or who you’re with. I also really like German sausages with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes, mustard and a glass of beer.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Helen Mirren, my wife Sarah, and Simon Hopkinson.
Which historical character do you most admire?
There is a late 18th-century French writer, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who wrote a book called The Physiology Of Taste. I like it because he tried to turn the subject of eating and taste into a science and to establish what it is about sitting down and eating with other people that is so special.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Somebody came up to me in a shop in Sydney and said, as a sort of backhanded compliment, ‘I always thought all your programmes were rubbish, but the newest one is all right.’
Do you believe in aliens?
No. I believe people who believe in aliens have far too much spare time on their hands.
What is your secret vice?
I waste far too much precious time looking on the internet for gadgets. It’s a vice I share with my son, Jack. We’ve just been filming in Germany and I stopped at the services and bought three different plugs for phones, none of which I really need.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Not often enough, although I do if I remember.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘I really, really like that.’
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A bit more exercise.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘He was an OK cook.’
Rick Stein’s India is on BBC Two on Monday at 9pm. The accompanying book of the same name, is published by BBC Books, priced £25.