‘I even listen to books WHILE I’M SWIMMING’
Celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter and author Rick Stein reveals his passion for the written word – wherever he is!
Rick Stein is a busy man, but he doesn’t let that get in the way of a good book. ‘I read a lot, and listen to audiobooks while I’m swimming in the estuary in Padstow. I use aquatic headphones to hear the book via Bluetooth from my phone.’ Rick’s latest book, Rick Stein At Home, contains recipes he loves to cook in his own kitchen, as well as essays about his life. ‘There was a lot of nostalgia involved,’ he says.
The book that inspired me to write recipe books is…
French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David.
My parents knew her and she would come to stay with us in Cornwall. This book is filled with glamorous French cuisine – from lobster to Dover sole – and her writing made me want to be part of the life she was describing.
The book I recommend to everyone is…
A Brief History Of Seven Killings by Marlon James.
It’s set in Jamaica in the 1970s and is the story of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. It’s told from myriad points of view. Parts of it are horrific and violent, but it’s just brilliant. It’s written mostly in Jamaican patois, which is a delight.
My all-time favourite book is…
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.
Set in 1860s Sicily, this is the story of the Prince of Salina, a nobleman caught up in a civil war. He’s incredibly powerful but also has this sensitivity to the decay around him. The best bit, I think, is that his dog, Bendico, is probably the most important character. It’s wonderful.
The book that shaped my childhood is… The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.
My mum would read me a lot of Kipling as a child. My real name is Christopher, but when I was five, my eldest brother, Jeremy, started calling me Ricky after the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi in the Kipling story of the same name. And it stuck.
The funniest book I’ve read is… Scoop by Evelyn Waugh.
A great satire that’s still relevant today. It’s about an inept guy who writes for a provincial paper and is sent to Africa because ‘there’s a very nice little war going on’. He finds himself in the midst of massive bloodshed and by chance gets a scoop.
My favourite character from a book is…
Captain John Yossarian in Catch-22.
He’s so against war and yet finds himself right in the middle of the Second World War as a bombardier. He spends the whole book trying to get out of missions. He’s the perfect anti-military figure for me.
• Rick Stein At Home: Recipes, Memories And Stories From A Food Lover’s Kitchen (BBC Books) is out 16 September