Guest chef

As he prepares to open his second Australian restaurant, at Port Stephens north of Sydney, Rick Stein shares his cooking ethos and gives us a taste of what guests can expect. It’s the best of summer eating on a plate!

Seafood and more from Rick Stein’s new Australian opening.

GOOD FOOD NEEDN’T be complicated. It’s the underlying premise of everything Rick Stein puts on the plate, and the results are a sheer joy to eat.

That belief has been the driving force behind his Australian restaurant, Rick Stein at Bannisters, in Mollymook for the past nine years, where he has celebrated best-in-class Aussie seafood. Now he’s doing the same a few hours north of Sydney at a new Port Stephens outpost of the same name. “The menu is driven by what quality produce we get access to on any given day,” says Stein. “Not only is Port Stephens beautiful, with all its amazing inlets, it’s got some of the best seafood in the world.”

With glorious options such as kingfish, pink ling, flathead, prawns or mussels, the aim of any good cook, says Stein, is to try to keep it as simple as possible and let the produce reveal its true nature.

“As far as I’m concerned, I find it difficult cooking seafood, but it’s also so incredibly wonderful. And knowing exactly what you should do is the great challenge. The Japanese have always been thoughtful and intellectual about cooking, and incredibly keen on simplicity. That’s where I’m always looking. I always tell myself – ‘keep it simple, stupid’,” he laughs.