Before MasterChef, smartphones and the age of the Instagram influencer, the world of the celebrity chef was a very different place. It was raw. It was real. It was infinitely watchable. The mid-to-late 20th century brought us a style of TV culinary legend we’ll likely never see again. There were the formidable, like Julia Child. The irrepressible, like Keith Floyd. The type you just wanted to hug, like Antonio Carluccio. And then that world brought us Rick Stein. 

UK chef and restaurateur Stein’s first TV show, Taste of the Sea, aired in 1995, and he has been a fixture on our foodie screens ever since, with his charming self-effacement and unabashed exuberance resonating with viewers the world over. We’ve watched him travel the canals of France, voyage from Venice to Istanbul, explore the Far East and get schooled by the UK’s Japanese ambassador. And always, there is that unquenchable enthusiasm; that passion to learn more and uncover new secrets in the eternally surprising world of food. (He’s got a new show, Rick Stein’s Food Stories, coming out in 2024.)

Stein has long been known for his love of simple dishes that pay tribute to their origins, eschewing fuss and frills in favour of straightforward, honest cooking that celebrates real ingredients and classic recipes that have stood the test of time. It is apt, then, that his latest cookbook is titled Simple Suppers. It’s a collection of easy, informal recipes designed for those who love to cook – perhaps with a glass of wine in hand – but don’t want to spend all day faffing about in the kitchen.

“The recipes are all relatively quick to make,” the chef says. “‘I’ve limited the ingredients to between five and 10; just making the process as simple as possible.

“It’s acknowledging that this is the way that people cook and eat these days. It’s been a lot of good fun to write. Something I’ve really enjoyed about this book has been looking at ways to save time. For example, by making really quick sauces. Or if you’re making a stew, why do you fry the onions and then add the garlic? It makes very little difference. It was about going through the recipes and cutting them down to very simple processes. No recipe was allowed to go past one page.”

Interspersed among the 120+ recipes are what Stein calls “essays” – musings on topics such as why people fear cooking with fish “and why they bloody well shouldn’t” and another on “the bewildering way young people cook these days”.

“I did a bit of research into the internet and TikTok,” he says. “At what goes on. I think that, even at my age, I need to look at what young people are doing and how they’re cooking.”

Related recipes: 6 Rick Stein recipes for an impressive seafood spread

And there it is again – Stein’s neverending fascination with how other people cook and eat. His intrinsically curious nature has seen him tasting foods of all kinds from all corners of the globe… which leads to the big question: in his travels, has there been any one meal in particular that was more memorable than any other? Surprisingly, the seasoned traveller is very quick to respond. 

“I had a truly memorable meal in India, and I built the whole of my Indian cookbook (Rick Stein’s India: In Search of the Perfect Curry) on that meal,” he says. “We just happened to be stopped at a place called Mamallapuram, and had this memorable fish curry. And the reason it was so memorable was because it was so simple. It was a very fresh bit of snapper and just a sauce of very few ingredients – garlic, chilli, coriander, turmeric, curry leaves and tomato. That’s about it.”

A simple supper, done well. It can never fail to impress. 

Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers is available for purchase online on Booktopia. Our recommendations are dedicated to helping you find the right product at the right price. Things you buy may earn us a commission.

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