TASTE OF FRANCE
Celebrity chef Rick Stein returns to tantalise our tastebuds in his new Foxtel series Secret France, writes Holly Byrnes
AFTER bunkering down in his NSW south coast resort and restaurant over summer, bracing against the catastrophic bushfi res which threatened his Bannister’s property and decimated the neighbouring townships and wildlife, Rick Stein now knows just what it’s like to live in ‘the Lucky Country’.
Grateful his properties north and south of Sydney were spared in the natural disaster, the British TV chef has been overwhelmed and inspired by the resilience and spirit of those communities battling on around him.
“I was down in Mollymook during the worst of it and I was really, really heartened by the way people responded,” Stein says.
“You’d talk to people who had just lost their house and they would just straight out tell you. Occasionally there were tears but a lot of the time, it was just amazing.
“In Britain, you’d call that ‘stiff upper lip.’ In Australia,” he enthuses, ‘ Well, you’re made of strong stuff.’”
When I suggest a local version of his popular Food Heroes program might turn the spotlight back on those primary producers and regional businesses affected by the fi res, Stein – who divides his time between his UK home and Australia each year – is quick to lend his support.
“That’s a very good idea. I mean, I’d love to do it,” he says, teasing local producers.
His affection for Australia is obvious and clearly extends well beyond his passion for our food, and his marriage to Sydney-born publisher Sass – his second wife and love of his life.
She tagged along on his most recent TV odyssey to France, with the couple and his longserving crew setting up base in a picture postcard villa in Provence.
“I love having her along on the trips,” Stein says.
“She’s just got a take on things I’m forever stealing and passing off as my own,” he adds, with a laugh.
“The other thing is all the crew dote on her, so everything goes much better when she’s along for the ride.”
This series, however, was tinged with sadness, with Stein’s veteran director and beloved friend David Pritchard unable to travel as he battled cancer back in the UK, before passing away in January last year.
The larger-than-life TV boss will be known to viewers for his cheeky on-air appearances, and grumpy old man asides off camera – a wonderful foil for Stein during their many adventures.
Pritchard’s passing devastated Stein and the close-knit crew of cameraman Chris Topliss and sound recordist Pete Underwood, who have produced almost 20 series together over 30 years.
“The whole reason these programs have been going for so long is because of him,” Stein says, in tribute.
“We loved him, we all did. We found him a complete pain in the arse most of the time,” he chuckles, “the kind you couldn’t ignore.”
By the series’ end, Stein delivers an emotional eulogy for his friend and TV partner, but has found other ways to honour his legacy.
Specifically, keeping up the tradition set by Pritchard for downing tools during fi lming and make tracks to a bar, any bar, by 5.29pm promptly.
“It goes back to the days, like in Australia, when there was a 6pm closing time, so you had to get there and bang on the door at 5.29pm,” Stein explains.
“It’s those quirky little bits of his personality that suddenly become enshrined in legend,” Stein says, revealing the crew have raised a glass to him many times since his death.
“For someone so big in your life, a lot of the chat is reminiscing about the ridiculous things he did in the past. He kept us all together and only time will tell if it will be the same without him,” Stein says.
The series and companion cookbook of the same name, Rick Stein’s Secret France [BBC Books/ Penguin], are both dedicated to Pritchard, whose idea it was to go on a quest to see if real French cuisine lives on beyond tourist trap fare.
It was a mission Stein embraced, a dedicated Francophile since he and his sister Henrietta were sent on their fi rst holiday away, sans parents.
As luck would have it, they would be hosted in a chateau, owned by a man who boasted a full staff, including a resident chef.
“My abiding memory is just being served a glass of cider, at 14, by the butler in his white gloves and thinking, ‘ This is pretty special.’”
It set the bar high for the young Stein, who has “always had a great respect for French formality in the service of food ... they just do things very well.”
While the current trend for vegan food might sell Stein “squillions of copies,” he says, his recipes for rich fi sh dishes, duck cottage pie and other luscious twists on traditional recipes is proudly more his style.
His signature flair for language, like his TV cohort Nigella Lawson, is also something he fi nds a happy challenge in.
“I know her quite well and
I’m always slightly sending her up about her astonishing use of vocabulary,” he reveals. “So when I say stuff like, ‘Oh that was so unctuous’ I’m thinking,
‘ I don’t think Nigella is using that anymore,” he giggles.
“But honestly, I think women are well known to have a better word horde in their brain, but she is unbelievable,” he praises.
“I just watched a new series of her and thought, ‘My god, she’s having a go at me here’ ... the words are just so wonderful.”
RICK STEIN’S SECRET FRANCE 7PM, THURSDAY, FOXTEL’S LIFESTYLE FOOD