Rick Stein’s Food Stories
New weekly episodes of Rick Stein’s Food Stories are back on BBC2 from Thursday 26th September. His culinary adventure around Great Britain to discover the food that we love to eat today ventures from Cumbria to Bristol and Suffolk to Belfast, and the people that he meets, and the food and drink he finds, have inspired new recipes galore for you to recreate at home. 30 featured in the instalment of the series and countless more are celebrated in the accompanying Rick Stein’s Food Stories book which is out now.
Look forward to cooking recipes from Rick Stein’s Food Stories and reading out episode guides below…
Watch the Rick Stein’s Food Stories introduction
Having been a chef for over 50 years, Rick has come to realise that the food we eat tells a story about who we are. From traditional dishes to those that we’ve made our own – meeting producers, some of our best chefs and those keeping traditions alive to see how food brings us together.
The series is about my travels around Britain and Northern Ireland trying to get a handle on what is British cuisine today. Behind every dish there’s a story, big or small. From fish & chips to pad Thai noodles, from chicken tikka masala to square sausages in a bun for breakfast on the streets of Glasgow.
Rick
Pot roast brisket with parsley dumplings
Proper scampi and tartare sauce
Potted Shrimp on homemade crumpets and poached egg
Tattie scones and smoked salmon
Strawberry sorbet, langues du chat biscuits and crème Chantilly
Bangers and mash with onion gravy
Pork adobo with jasmine rice and pickled mango
Aged chuck steak and Guinness Pie
Scotch egg with a Ploughman’s lunch
Smoked sea trout with chive dressing
Rack of lamb with Dauphinoise potatoes
Mozzarella and roasted peach salad on toasted ciabatta
Pan fried John Dory with beer, bacon and lettuce
Red velvet chocolate and cherry cupcakes
Chocolate profiteroles with crème pâtissière
Chicken tikka masala with chapatis
Order a signed copy of the book
Rick has penned over 100 recipes from his Food Stories travels around Great Britain and Northern Ireland to include in the upcoming book of the same name. Fabulous dishes to both read about and cook at home – as the follow up to to Simple Suppers, we know this book is going to be mighty popular too. Click below to order a signed copy.
Food Stories Episode Guides
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 1 guide
Rick begins his food tour of the UK in the Lake District in Cumbria, one of the top foodie destinations in England. He meets with a local sheep farmer and best-selling author, James Rebanks who farms a Herdwick sheep, a breed that has been native to Cumbria since the bronze age. This lamb is celebrated and enjoyed mostly by the most modern and diverse areas in the North of England. Inspired by his visit, he cooks his mum’s recipe of leftover lamb shepherd’s pie with Jack Stein whilst they reminisce on her favourite home-cooked dishes she made for them.
Along the 180-mile coastline of Cumbria, Rick visits the little market town of Ulverston, the birthplace of comic actor, Stan Laurel. In Morecambe Bay just around the corner, he meets up with an old friend and shrimp fisherman, Ray Edmondson to enjoy his well-known potted shrimps. Rick then meets with another shrimp fisherman also called Ray to discover a different way of shrimp fishing using a tractor with a specially adapted trailer to collect the brown shrimps when the tides are low.
Back in his kitchen in Padstow with some fresh Morecambe Bay shrimps, Rick bakes some fresh crumpets and tops it with the potted shrimps, a poached egg and a sprinkling of chives, it makes the perfect lunch for a rainy day.
Recreate Rick’s leftover lamb shepherd’s pie recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s crumpets with potted shrimps and a poached egg recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 2 guide
Rick heads to the most northern point in his food tour, Argyll on the west coast of Scotland to find out more about our growing interest in wild food. He meets with Mary and Alister in Holy Loch to hunt for some local Scottish langoustines on their creel fishing boat. Inspired by his boat trip, Rick heads to his kitchen to cook arroz rojo using his fresh catch of langoustines.
Back in Argyll, Rick travelled to Loch Fyne to visit restaurateur and chef, Pamela Brunton, where her restaurant was awarded a Michelin Green Star, the only one in Scotland, which celebrates the use of wild local ingredients. She cooks chargrilled lamb with a salad picked from the local area from the restaurant, including sea broccoli.
Rick then travelled to one of Argyll’s largest islands, Isle of Bute, to meet Alister McFadden and his legendary smokehouse, famous for its smoked salmon. He shows Rick the process of how he makes his smoked salmon in the traditional smokehouse founded in the 1800s.
With plenty of smoked salmon with him, Rick’s back in the kitchen to cook to showcase this great fish. He cooks tattie scones, a traditional Scottish delicacy topped with a root vegetable and beetroot salad and slices of smoked salmon. Available to enjoy on the menu at Rick Stein, Barnes.
Recreate Rick’s arroz rojo recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s tattie scones with smoked salmon recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 3 guide
Rick’s food tour lands him in Lincolnshire, a rural county where a third of all our vegetables are grown. The town of Carrington is home to a giant greenhouse filled with 700,000 strawberry plants where they are trialling the strawberries being produced and picked by robots. Rick visits this strawberry farm owned by none-other than James Dyson, of bagless vacuum cleaner fame, to find out more how he’s incorporating technology into the farming industry. With a bowlful of strawberries from Dyson’s farm, he creates a strawberry sorbet with Chantilly cream and French, langues du chat biscuits. One to enjoy on our menus in Sandbanks, Winchester, Barnes, Marlborough and St Petroc’s Bistro, if you’d rather, instead of making it at home.
Just north of the city of Lincoln, Rick visits author and chef, Rachael Green whose family have been farming here for over 400 years. She makes Rick a local delicacy, plum bread served with Lincolnshire poacher cheese, her grandmother’s recipe.
During his Lincolnshire adventure, Rick can’t miss the opportunity to try the famous Lincolnshire sausage, packed with sage. He visits Redhill Farm to meet owners, Jane and Terry who breed their own free-range pigs and show him the process of how they make their well-loved sausages. Back at home, Rick’s lit the BBQ ready to make some homemade bangers and mash with a red wine gravy using the sausages straight from Redhill Farm.
Recreate Rick’s strawberry sorbet, langues du chat biscuits and crème Chantilly recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s bangers and mash with onion gravy recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 4 guide
Rick travels across the Irish Sea and begins this episode in the city of Belfast, the home of musician Van Morrison. In the city centre’s trademarket, Rick meets with restaurateur Nallaine, who specialises in Filipino food – a cuisine he’s has never tried before. He digs into a kamian which is a traditional communal way of eating using your hands, enjoying delicacies made by Nallaine and her kitchen team. Rick’s back in the kitchen to make his first ever Filipino dish, pork belly adobo served with mango atchara and jasmine rice.
Northern Ireland is known for its fantastic produce so Rick heads into the Irish countryside to meet Adrian Morrow, owner of the Glenarm Estate which is home to an award winning heard of beef cattle named Shorthorns. Rick follows the process of this well-loved Irish beef and visits old friend, Pete Hannan who talks through the process of how the beef is aged and cured. Back in Padstow with some well-aged steak, he cooks a gloriously comforting steak and Guinness pie.
Rick’s final visit in Northern Ireland is to local fish restaurant, Lir to meet fishmongers and now owners, Rebekah and Stevie. They believe it’s important to use every part of the fish and every type of fish. Stevie cooks up a dogfish carbonara for Rick to try.
Recreate Rick’s pork adobo with jasmine rice and pickled mango recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s steak and Guinness pie recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 5 guide
In this episode, Rick heads to the north-western city of Manchester, exploring the local market in Bury which was awarded the best market in 2022. He comes across one of the stalls selling black pudding, tripe and cowheel to try these more unusual cuts of meat and to find out more about them from the experts at Chadwick’s Black Pudding. Upon further exploring the market, Rick discovers some local delicacies – Chorley and Eccles cakes, both of which he likes very much. Back in his Padstow kitchen, Rick makes a classic ploughman’s lunch using the black pudding from the market, combined with sausage meat, to make scotch eggs.
Next up, Rick heads to the Northern Quarter in Manchester – the creative hub of the city. He visits a local vinyl store to reminisce on the times before The Seafood Restaurant when it originally started out as a disco. Afterwards, he meets local and upcoming chef, Joe Otway who focuses on the concept of using nose to tail of your produce and cooks him one of his best-selling dishes, pork offal ragu. Inspired by his visit to Manchester, Rick’s cooks a favourite of his, sautéed calves’ liver with caramelised onions, grilled bacon, cabbage and mashed potatoes.
For his final stop in Manchester, he has to visit the Marble Arch Inn. A traditional pub amongst all the development work in ever-changing and vibrant city to try a feather-blade and marble-stout pie.
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 6 guide
Rick spends this episode exploring the south coast of Wales. He begins his Welsh adventure by meeting chef and Youtuber Gaz Oakley who cooks plant-based dishes grown on his own small-holding. He cooks Rick a garlic Welsh rarebit pizza, topping it with beetroot and rhubarb.
Next up, Rick heads to the Gower Peninsula to meet farmer Dan Pritchard who raises sheep on the coastal salt marshes. He meets their butcher, John to get his hands on a prime cut of rack of Gower salt marsh lamb to take back to Padstow. In the kitchen, Rick roasts the rack of lamb and serves it with dauphinoise potatoes, beans and peas.
Rick visits the village of Laugharne alongside the River Taff where one of his literacy heroes, Dylan Thomas, spent the last few years of his life. He is allowed special access to see inside Thomas’s writing shed overlooking the estuary where he wrote his most famous works.
20 miles away on the River Towy, Rick discovers a traditional fishing method that’s been around for thousands of years. The fishermen use a coracle boat and nets to fish and Rick joins the locals in hope of a catch for his next recipe. Unsuccessful this time, Rick’s local fishmonger in Padstow fared better and back in the kitchen he cooks smoked sea trout served with a potato salad and a tomato salad.
Recreate Rick’s rack of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes recipe at home
Recrate Rick’s sea trout with chive dressing and potato and tomato salad recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 7 guide
Rick visits one of his favourite cities on his UK food tour, Bristol – a diverse city where nearly 70 different languages are spoken. Rick stops by Houria café, who provide safe employment and training in their kitchen for migrant women living in Bristol. The café highlights the national dishes for these women and celebrates food that you wouldn’t normally come across. Back in his kitchen in Padstow, Rick recreates the salt cod fish cakes that he was made by Kim, the founder of Houria.
After finding out about Bristol’s history with the Windrush Generation and about the African/Caribbean culture in St Pauls, Rick visits Gullu’s Kitchen, an African/Caribbean takeaway just outside of the city centre and meets owner, Mark Daley. He cooks for Rick his most well-loved dish, jerk chicken.
Heading now into the West Country, he meets Peter Westcott who’s a chef that focuses on fermented foods and vegetables. Rick tries some of his products such as fermented curtido, beetroot and artichokes. Using the curtido from his West Country visit, Rick makes chipotle chicken burritos on the barbecue back home in Padstow.
Recreate Rick’s salt cod fishcakes recipe from Houria Café at home
Recreate Rick’s chipotle chicken burrito with curtido recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 8 guide
In this episode, Rick travels east to the county of Suffolk, also known as the nation’s breadbasket, as it has the perfect soil and the right amount of sunshine to grow the best wheat. Over the 2020 lockdown, Rick learnt how to make sourdough bread so for his first food story of the episode, Rick meets Alexander and Emily, owners of Acre Farm to learn how to make sourdough bread properly. They bake their bread the traditional way with a wood-fired oven. With a loaf of sourdough with him, Rick has the perfect recipe to go with it, Valle D’Aosta cabbage soup.
Along the coast in Southwold, Rick visits the home of one of his favourite writers, George Orwell, where he moved to with his family when he was 18 years old. Here was where he began his writing career and would be known for his best-selling novels, 1984 and Animal Farm. Next, Rick visits a new local café, Canteen owned by chef, Nicola Horden where it strives to make food available for all with the concept of ‘pay what you can lunches’. Nicola makes Rick a rainbow chard and St Jude curd tart made from local and organic ingredients.
20 miles south along the coastline, Rick visits the town of Aldeburgh which was once home to a thriving heron fishing industry, but after the First World War, the industry declined. Rick meets up with fisherman, Dean Fryer who he first met over 20 years ago on Rick’s TV series, Food Heroes. He’s now the only local fisherman who goes out to sea every day which he sells his catch to the local business and the community. Inspired by his visit to see Dean, Rick’s back in the kitchen with some fresh sea bass fillets and crab meat to try something a little bit out of his comfort zone, sushi.
Recreate Rick’s Valle D’Aosta cabbage soup recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s nigiri and maki sushi rolls recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 9 guide
In this episode, Rick travels to London where he started his career as a chef. He heads to China Town in Soho to find out more about our love for Chinese food that has now become part of the British food landscape. He visits one of the most well-known restaurants in China Town, New Loon Fung, to try dim sum, a Cantonese dish of dumpling pastry filled with a variety of different fillings and then steamed. Rick chats with the owner, Shun Bun Lee and his son, Sunny, who’s won the Observer Food Lifestyle Achievement Award. Inspired by his visit, Rick cooks one of the most-loved Cantonese dishes, beef chow mein.
As well as Cantonese food, Italian food has also captured the hearts of our nation – voted the most popular cuisine in the world. In West London, Rick visits a new dairy factory which produces mozzarella cheese, bringing the true taste of Italy to the UK. He meets owner, Simona Di Vietri, where she tells Rick more about the mozzarella she produces using British dairy cows and how she supplies some of the top restaurants in London with her cheese. With a few balls of mozzarella with him, Rick braves the British weather to make an Italian inspired alfresco salad of mozzarella and roasted peaches with grilled ciabatta.
There’s one dish though that is truly British which you can find all over the world, the full English breakfast. Rick meets with radio presenter and travel writer, Stuart Maconie who’s wrote all about this important British dish, at Pellicci’s in East London. The full English originated from the 1500’s with the same concept but the components changing throughout time.
Recreate Rick’s beef chow mein recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s mozzarella and roasted peach salad on toasted ciabatta recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 10
Rick continues his food stories adventures in London in this episode. With over 120 different cuisines on offer in the capital, London is officially the most diverse food city in the world. He first heads to Shepherd’s Bush market to meet Ahmed Yassine, owner of the market café, Mr Falafel, which Rick has heard so much about. He cooks Rick his childhood favourite, a falafel and Makdous wrap which includes pickled aubergines stuffed with walnuts, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and tahina sauce.
Not far from Shepherd’s Bush, Rick visits a new restaurant called Mriya Neo Restaurant which specialises in Ukrainian dishes. Owner Olga Tsybytovska and her team that works there are all refugees that had to flee from their home to escape the war. Chef Arkadii cooks Rick their most well-known and loved national dish, borscht, which is a hearty beetroot soup normally served with a shot of vodka. Paying tribute to Ukraine, Rick cooks another well-loved Ukrainian dish back in his kitchen in Padstow, chicken Kiev.
Rick travels up to Walthamstow in north London which used to be the home of silent movies in the UK due to its great natural light and being in close proximity to the city centre. Walthamstow is now the home of craft beer and Rick goes to meet Jaega Wise, owner and head brewer of Wild Card Brewery to find out more about how the beer is made. Rick confesses he’s not the biggest craft beer fan, but is won over with Jaega and her team’s range of beers. With a can pale ale with him, he makes a sauce to pair with pan-fried John Dory, bacon and lettuce.
On his last stop in London, Rick visits the Ethiopian restaurant, Delina’s, where he tries a local delicacy, beyainatu, which is a first for Rick.
Recreate Rick’s pan fried John dory with beer, bacon and lettuce recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 11 guide
Rick begins this episode by walking along the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent, our nation’s oldest county. Kent produces 90% of the UK cherries, so Rick visits Little Sharsted Farm where they grow 40 hectares of the fruit. He meets owner, Sarah Neaves, to find out more about the cherries they grow their. The picking season is only 8 weeks and the cherries have to be picked by hand. Back in the kitchen with some freshly picked cherries, Rick bakes red velvet chocolate and cherry cupcakes.
Along the coast, Rick visits the seaside town of Margate which was one of the first seaside resorts in the UK. It’s also home to the Turner Contemporary, home to many of J.M.W Turner’s paintings which is built on the site where his mistresses’ boarding house was. Turner is one of Rick’s favourite artists and his work includes many seascapes of Margate. The sea has shaped and inspired the people of Margate, so Rick joins fishermen Tom and Merlin on a fishing trip to find his favourite fish, Dover sole. In Padstow, with a Dover sole caught from the Tom’s fishing boat, he cooks a French dish, Dover sole à la meunière. A classic from our restaurant menus.
To finish his visit to Kent, Rick can’t resist enjoying a portion of one of the nation’s most loved dish, fish and chips, whilst sat along the beach.
Recreate Rick’s red velvet chocolate and cherry cupcake recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 12 guide
Rick’s back in Scotland to visit the city of Glasgow. He discovers that a lot of Italians that moved to Scotland and made Glasgow their home in the 1800s, resulting in lots of different Italian restaurants to discover. Rick visits one, Eusebi’s Deli, where he meets owner Giovanna Eusebi who offers to cook him Carciofi which are stuffed artichokes. Inspired by this Italian dish, Rick and middle son Jack cook osso buco with a saffron risotto – typical of the city of Milan.
Rick meets with food author, Ben Mevris in Govern Hill to show him the diversity and variety of different cuisines on offer her in Glasgow. First, he takes him to a Korean restaurant, Gomo Kimchi, to try some kimchi fried rice served with spam. Next on his food tour around Govern Hill they visit Big Counter restaurant to try ox tongue with potato pav and lemon sole served with clams. After this, Ben takes Rick to Civic House, where they serve vegan Pakistani food.
Rick heads to the south of the city to Bare Bones Chocolate, who make their chocolate from raw cacao beans. He meets owners, Lara and Cameron to find out more about the process of how they make their chocolate. With a bar of their chocolate, Rick’s in Padstow to make profiteroles with chocolate sauce.
For his final stop in Glasgow, he visits The University Café which is over 100 years old to try their well-loved knickerbocker glory, a dish which originated in America.
Recreate Rick’s osso buco with gremolata recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s chocolate profiteroles with crème pâtissière recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 13 guide
After a trip to Glasgow, Rick crosses the border back into England for this episode to visit the Yorkshire. He begins his adventure by visiting Michelin star pub The Star Inn to chat about one of the most classic British meals, the Sunday roast, and a key component to it that comes from the county, the Yorkshire pudding.
Next on his journey, Rick wants to find out more about our growing love and interest in vegetarian meals and meat substitutes, so he visits ToFoo Factory to meet owners, Dave and Lydia who are the biggest tofu producers in the UK. Originated in China, Dave and Lydia have made different flavoured tofu including smoked tofu which is growing in popularity, especially with the younger generation. Rick bought some of the tofu back with him to Padstow to make the ever so popular dish from Thailand, pad Thai.
Rick then visits Leeds, the UKs fourth largest city. He stops by the oldest pub in Leeds, Whitelocks Ale House, where they serve a wonderful old bitter which is still very popular, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, one of Rick’s favourite beers.
Next, he discovers that a lot of people from the Middle East moved to Leeds in the 1950s and so he’s keen to try some of this cuisine in the city. He visits the restaurant, Bundobust, one of Time Out Magazine’s top 10 Indian restaurants in the UK. Owners, Mayur and Marko, started Bundobust as a pop-up 10 years ago and they’ve grown it to be an award-winning restaurant. Their concept is to combine inexpensive vegetarian street food with specially brewed craft ales. He meets head chef, Gopi who shows him how to make one of their most popular dishes, ragda, which is a combination of Indian spices mixed with mushy peas. Inspired by his visit, Rick cooks a vegetarian version of one of our most popular curries, a jalfrezi with paneer.
Recreate Rick’s pad Thai with tofu recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s jalfrezi with paneer recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 14 guide
Rick’s food tour has landed him in the Midlands for this episode, one of Britain’s most diverse areas. He visits the city of Leicester to discover the Indian food scene and meets food writer, Gurdeep Royal, who shows Rick around Leicester. They visit a drive through-café serving traditional Indian dishes and snacks, a local gem. Rick tries a vada pav, a fried potato fritter and very hot chilli sauce in a soft white bun – it happened to be a lot hotter than Rick was expecting. Next, Gurdeep takes Rick to the restaurant, Char Paani, which recently won best vegetarian restaurant at the English Curry Awards. He tries their most popular dish, a dosa, which is a crispy pancake with a spicy potato filling and traditional dips on the side. Rick and Gurdeep’s final destination on their mini food tour is at family-run diner, Bobby’s. which serves some dazzling Indian savoury and sweet treats. Full of inspiration, Rick’s back in his kitchen in Padstow to cook a classic chicken tikka masala.
In the countryside of Warwickshire, Rick visits Charlecote Mill where there is a revival on this ancient industry where they produce flour and has gathered interest in a new market of the British-Asian community. Owner and miller, Karl Grevatt, shows Rick how the water mill which was built in 1752 works to produce their wonderful flour.
Rick then travels to the city of Birmingham and his first stop is to the café Chi & Crumbs which specialises in the tea, chai which originated in India. He tries a glass of the owner, Sue Perveen’s mother’s chai recipe. Inspired by how India has shaped the British food scene, Rick cooks a matar kulcha, a recipe he got from a recent trip to Delhi.
Rick’s final stop in his journey in the Midlands is to its only Michelin star Indian restaurant (which now has two stars), Opheem, to meet chef and owner, Aktar Islam who’s pushing the boundaries of Indian cuisine. Atkar cooks Rick monkfish Alleppey cooked on a konro grill.
Recreate Rick’s chicken tikka masala recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s matar kulcha recipe at home
Rick Stein’s Food Stories series 1 episode 15 guide
Rick finishes his UK food tour back on home soil in the West Country. He explores from Bristol right down to Penzance to discover new food stories to share. He begins in Devon to meet organic farmer and distributor, Guy Singh-Watson, to learn more about the importance organic farming and the produce. Riverford Farm produces and sells fresh vegetables boxes directly to his 70,000 customers across the country. Guy has now ventured into the restaurant business, setting up an onsite restaurant serving produce from the farm. Rick tries a dish of pickled aubergines, heritage tomatoes and French beans. Back in Padstow, with a handful of vegetables from Riverford farm, Rick cooks a vegetable tarte tatin with carrots, beetroot and red onion.
Staying in Devon, Rick meets a family who have been making artisan Cheddar since 1540. He meets the UK’s most famous female cheesemaker, Mary Quicke, and she shows Rick how her team make the cheese by hand. With a block cheese in hand, Rick’s retreats to his kitchen to make a cheese, potato and spinach filo pie.
Finally, Rick travels to Dorset’s Jurassic Coast to meet his long-time friend, Mark Hix, who owns The Oyster & Fish House overlooking the harbour in Lyme Regis. Mark champions local ingredients and Rick enjoys one of his new creations of pollock and cockles served with sea vegetables.
Recreate Rick’s carrot, beetroot and red onion tarte tatin recipe at home
Recreate Rick’s cheese, potato and spinach filo pie recipe at home
Food Stories Cookery Course in Padstow
Alongside the recipes from the series being on our restaurant menus, Head Chef Lecturer Nick Evans and his team at our cookery school in Padstow have worked with Rick to bring a new one day cookery course to life that celebrates five dishes from the series.
Dishes include, you guessed it, the famous potted shrimp crumpet inspired by a visit to Morecambe so you can learn from our experts exactly how to master this at home for friends and family.
Make new Food Stories in Cornwall
Cornwall is home to some of the best food and drinks producers in the country, man of which we’re proud to call suppliers. Escape for a few nights away in our rooms in Padstow to experience them for yourself and discover some new food stories to share.
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