Top 101 Rick Stein Quotes

I suppose I’ve got a restlessness about me which is only alleviated by travel and I like being on the road.

We all know lemon is loved by salmon, but the fish also adores the flavour and acidity of pink grapefruit.

Its such a diverse culture with Chinese, Indian, Malay Eurasian and all points in between so wherever you go in Malaysia youve got fascinating food.

I always put on a couple of kilos every time I film a programme. You cant really tuck into a dish and then just leave it.

You find if you go into a Cafe de Commerce, in any French town, you always get the same bloody salad: lots of lettuce and some meat and dressing thrown on and thats it.

I did have a very determined idea of making money. I was quite savvy about that. And that was my most basic lesson. You do have to understand the economics. It’s pointless putting in all that work and losing money. If you’re not making a profit you’re stuffed.

When I started out in the early 1970s French cooking was really my only serious influence. For the first 10 years of having the seafood restaurant open I went to France, and particularly Brittany, to pick up ideas.

This is what London’s all about for me: good local restaurants. It’s what makes a civilised city. For me, as a country boy, it’s a real pleasure being able to walk to a restaurant. It seems very sophisticated, somehow.

To me theres nothing nicer than a pan-fried sole and some fresh salad, keep it simple.

Unless its Michelin-starred food, people wont pay top dollar for top food so its hard to do good old-fashioned French cooking and get people to pay for it.

As far as filming for TV goes, I like to go where the food is definitely of interest to British people.

I dont think Ill ever stop working, its what I do even though I dont have to – thats one of the pleasures of having your own business.

My father, Eric, was bipolar and as he got older, his illness affected the family more and more. My mother was magnificent in protecting my brothers and sisters from his illness.

Unless its Michelin-starred food, people wont pay top dollar for top food so its hard to do good old-fashioned French cooking and get people to pay for it.

One thing I don’t like is those three-star kitchens where they force the cooks to do exactly the same thing again and again. There has to be an element of chance in cookery.

Around Bordeaux the landscape is lush and verdant, then towards Toulouse it gets drier, sunnier and hotter. The food changes too.

I love fish soup. Its a deeply satisfying dish. You can use almost any fish for this apart from the oily ones.

I am particularly fond of Malaysian food but strangely its not that well known in Britain.

Its difficult to tell, isnt it, whether you are naturally a person that likes hard work and does things, or whether you feel youve got to prove something?

A lot of my customers wouldnt go to a McDonalds but we are all after the same thing in this business: pleasing the customer. I dont know why people get so aerated about it. I like McDonalds.

I always could cook. Mostly it was down to osmosis. I spent so much time in the kitchen with my mum as a kid. She was always talking to me about what she was doing.

It’s no surprise that cream gives pleasure. It feels great when you eat it, and it makes you feel great, too. I read somewhere that cream increases the amount of serotonin you produce in your brain – serotonin being the chemical that makes you feel warm and comfortable inside.

Divorce is horrible, no matter who instigates it. It’s very traumatic.

Im not the worlds greatest sea food chef, I just like fresh fish.

I think human beings thrive on communication, and pubs and restaurants are a great way of communicating, a great way of enjoying each other.

The first day in Tokyo was disorientating – all neon, gadgets and extreme politeness – but I was surprised to find that I have a lot in common with the Japanese because they’re bonkers about food.

You find if you go into a Cafe de Commerce, in any French town, you always get the same bloody salad: lots of lettuce and some meat and dressing thrown on and thats it.

When I started out in the early 1970s French cooking was really my only serious influence. For the first 10 years of having the seafood restaurant open I went to France, and particularly Brittany, to pick up ideas.

In the early 70s I was offered a job on a newspaper. At the last minute the offer was withdrawn because there was a strike on. I bought a nightclub and turned it into a restaurant instead.

This is what London’s all about for me: good local restaurants. It’s what makes a civilised city. For me, as a country boy, it’s a real pleasure being able to walk to a restaurant. It seems very sophisticated, somehow.

I’ve never worked in anyone else’s kitchen, but at college there was a guy called Tom Chivers who was a great chef and I learned a lot from him.

It’s nice to see some fresh herrings on the fish stand.

Losing close relatives doesnt get any easier, really, but losing your parents is the big deal.

I’ve never worked in anyone else’s kitchen, but at college there was a guy called Tom Chivers who was a great chef and I learned a lot from him.

Lunch is a problem because my office is above our chip shop – everything is fried in proper beef dripping. It smells so good that by 12 o’clock it’s hard not to think very lovingly of fish and chips.

I consider myself to be quite shy, funnily enough. I don’t find it easy to get the words out.

My boys are Cornish because they were all born there, but Im quite happy just to be an admirer.

I consider myself to be quite shy, funnily enough. I don’t find it easy to get the words out.

People feel very strongly about restaurants if theyre involved in them. It tends to take over your life for good and bad.

One thing I don’t like is those three-star kitchens where they force the cooks to do exactly the same thing again and again. There has to be an element of chance in cookery.

The Turks are fantastic barbecuers. They have these long barbecue pits called Mangals. The food smells wonderful and has a smoky, charcoaly taste.

Losing close relatives doesnt get any easier, really, but losing your parents is the big deal.

Cooking in Japan is regarded as an art, like music or painting. Every dish has a reason, including the garnishes. This is cuisine with philosophy, and the apparent simplicity belies centuries of culture.

I enjoy mending leaking pipes and dodgy plugs, as it helps me to unwind when my mind is on something else. Im pretty good at it – no one has ever been harmed by one of my repairs.

I dont think Ill ever stop working, its what I do even though I dont have to – thats one of the pleasures of having your own business.

The South Coast is not teeming with fish any more; there are no fleets of trawlers left. Small local boats land their fish daily and often sell it at the back of the beach, a scenario repeated all the way from West Bay to Whitstable.

If you are used to eating well as a child, you will end up probably being quite serious about what you eat as an adult, so I feel very blessed with that.

There is something wonderful about the way you glaze a fruit cake, nonchalantly drop some orange on as a topping, dust the sugar on top of a sponge cake or fan the apples on a tart.

Its challenging getting people to pay the right money to eat really good food and finding great people to work for you.

Ive definitely got a sense of not being very good at stuff. Its sort of absurd because, you know, Ive done really quite well for myself, but I still really doubt myself. Its just the way I am.

There was a fantastic old shack I used to go to. It didn’t look much from the outside but this man was selling the best stuff ever. He’d just take the catch and cook it up with butter, lemon and salt and then bung some chips with it and it was delicious.

I am particularly fond of Malaysian food but strangely its not that well known in Britain.

I suppose I’ve got a restlessness about me which is only alleviated by travel and I like being on the road.

I was brought up on a farm in Oxford but my parents always had a flat in London, and we’d go to pretty smart restaurants, so it’s always seemed important to eat well.

I’ve always been pushy as far as the business goes.

Im too keen for people to like me. If I didnt care so much, I would be more decisive. I spend a lot of time concerning myself with what other people will think of my actions, which makes me very indecisive.

I found a great fishmonger in Southend, certainly not a place where I would have expected to find one, who specialises in skate knobs, a little nugget of meat from the head which makes for extremely agreeable eating.

I have met vegetable growers who offer seasonal produce grown for taste rather than the ability to survive weeks in cold storage; meat producers who rear fantastic rare-breed pork, lamb and beef; and delis that stock local produce that will never find its way into supermarkets because it is not made in bulk.

Communities such as Auchmithie, Sandend, and even Wick once thrived on herring fishing. But it led me to ruminate on the likely fate for most of our coasts – with the decline of fishing many of the coastal communities are destined to become charming but lifeless exhibits of past endeavour.

My grandparents were born in England but spoke German and had a German name.