Rick Stein and British food
- 24 minutes ago
- 6 min read
"It shouldn’t work, but, like most of his work, a bumbling anti-charm somehow wins through." John Merrick/Vittles
I've never really been a follower of Rick Stein. I once watched a very short extract of the series in which he was floating down the Canal du Midi in France and I was somewhat underwhelmed. But I did buy this book recently - from Readings bargain table because I thought it was about time I discovered what all the fuss was about. Is he just good at promoting himself and his businesses down there in Padstow Cornwall, and now all over the place, or is he actually an interesting cook?
His onscreen persona is genial, and interested - or seemingly interested at least - in foods from here, there and everywhere, but even in those few glimpses I always thought there was a shrewd marketer at work - like Jamie Oliver I guess, although Jamie always seems more sincere in wanting to get people enthused about cooking. Whereas I always had the niggling feeling with Rick Stein he just wanted you to go to Padstow and eat in one of his many eating spots there.
Which is very cynical of me, and probably unfair. However, every now and then that business persona sneaks through like this in the introduction to the fish and shellfish section of the book:
"Of course the ideal accompaniment to breadcrumbed and fried fish is tartare sauce and I'm very proud of the one we serve in our fish and chip shops. It's made with olives, capers, gherkins, parsley and proper mayonnaise, but I seem to have upset quite a few people when I put the price of a portion up from 75p to £1. The complaint was that many other fish and chip shops give it away. My point was that I'm not a fan of the vinegary white slush that is often sold as tartare sauce. Need I say more?"
All of that said, the 'stories' in this book, are, like other similar books, about the producers of quality food - whether it be on the farm, at sea, or in small cafés throughout the British Isles. He heaps praise on them - e.g:
"I wonder if there's a more popular vegetarian dish in this country than falafel. If you love them as mch I do, you have to experience the falafel of a lifetime at Mr. Falafel's café in Shepherd's Bush market. He piles his golden, deep-fried falafel into wraps with layers of hummus, tomatoes, parsley, pickles and tahini sauce. It's a gorgeous mix of crispness, crunchiness, spiciness and vegetable cleanness."
And later on in the chapter he offers 'my version of his recipe.' It's a model which is repeated over and over throughout the book.
I haven't seen the TV series but I imagine there are interviews, and shots of the various producers producing their food. What we have here in the book is the final result - the food - and some short stories about the producers and comments about the recipes.
The thesis of this book is similar to many in these modern times of multiculturalism - how the food of immigrants changes the food of the host nation. And, of course, Britain with its controversial even confronting colonial history has one of the richest mixes - as the blurb on the back of the book - purporting to be from Stein himself, says:
"Over my 55-year career, I've seen British cooking transform. What we have now is an amalgam of our own rich repertoire of dishes and the food and flavours of so many different cultures who have made Britain their home. With everything from meat and two veg to Pad Thai noodles, we have today what I believe is one of the most exciting cuisines in the world."
And so the frontispiece of the whole book is this picture of a market stall in an unnamed country - or is it indeed somewhere in Brtian? Because, of course, it could be. And indeed other photographs later in the book suggest that yes indeed it is. Which is really a quite subtle statement about the influence of immigrant food - and of course the immigrants themselves - on the British Isles.
As I have already suggested this is not a book about traditional British food:
"the series and this book are not only about celebrating the great food we have in the UK. They are also about what we love to eat now." Rick Stein
And so what we have is a collection of the tried and true - the familiar and the loved. The food that the British - and the Australians too - another nation of immigrants now eat. The chicken and duck section is a case in point - beginning with Chicken Kyiv and continuing with Chicken tikka masala; Chipotle chicken burrito; Chinese chicken curry; Chicken Parmo; Chicken katsu curry; Chicken fajitas; Jerk chicken with rice and peas; Korean fried chicken wings; Chicken korma - until we come to the only purely British recipe in this section - Chicken, ham and leek puff pastry pie, then continuing with yet more immigrant dishes.
In fact really the only chapter which has a majority of British recipes is the Puddings and Bakes section. Below two that I might have a go at some time and one very traditional one - Double crust apple pie with a touch of cinnamom; plus Granny Green's LIncolnshire plum bread, and Rice pudding brulée - which you might say has a French touch, but let us not forget that Cambridge had it's own dish of burnt cream, so perhaps not so French after all. And I don't think Rick Stein is the only one to have given rice pudding the brulée treatment either - but it is indeed representative of the global approach to food that now exists.
And here let me say that this is a beautifully photographed and styled book. Somewhere in the text Rick Stein acknowledges the work of his food stylist Jan Smith 'who makes my food look so good' - or words to that effect. Although, of course, the photographer James Murphy, the designers .... also play their part. - a huge part.
Not many of the recipes are online as yet, but below a selections of some that either demonstrate how uncommonly common the food in this book is. Not very much of it is purely British, but almost all of it is commonly known to us all. There's even a recipe for Margherita Pizza. After my recent pizza failure I might do a similar project to my long ago one on Chicken butter cream - trying out various recipes from here and there. And I could not say whether Rick Stein has made changes to some of those dishes that are purely his own or whether they are British adapted versions, or even authentically from their homeland. Nor can I say whether he has tampered with the British ones, although some show signs of a personal touch - like the John dory below.
Herewith my selection in the order in which they appear in the book: Crumpets with potted shrimps and poached eggs - possibly a Rick Stein original that merges specifically British ingredients into something new. Chickpea, chorizo and red pepper cazuela; Pan-fried John Dory with beer, bacon and lettuce; Classic fish pie; Strong cheddar and potato puff pastry pasties; Carrot, beetroot and red onion tarte tatin and Valle d'Aosta cabbage and bread soup
I have been in two minds about this book. The recipes are not that original or maybe different would be a better word, but they are all in one place and it's a beautifully produced book - a joy to absorb. If you want a recipe for the kind of food we eat today, wherever it first came from, it's probably in here. In many ways it's today's comfort food. The kind of food you will find on the readymade meals shelves in the supermarket. And they are only there because we love them.
The man himself? I'm not sure. I found a really interesting article on the Vittles website by John Merrick called Rick Stein's Oddity which was a very personal piece about the part that Rick Stein had played in his life, in spite of his innate sexism and racism - well that's how he saw it -
"the infuriating but somehow compelling aura of Stein ... almost a figure out of time: the definition of pale, male, and stale, and one of the few remaining stalwarts of old-school British food broadcasting – as distinct from both Nadiya Hussain or Jamie Oliver as you could imagine."
Not having seen or read much of Rick Stein, I could not say whether John Merricks is being over critical of the man. Maybe I should seek some of his TV programmes out and make up my own mind. I think I'll keep the book for a while though. Maybe even make something from it.
YEARS GONE BY
March 11
2024 - Pierogi from Poland
2023 - Should we abhor stock cubes?
2022 - It's Friday
2021 - Missing
2020 - Missing
2019 - Nothing
2018 - Nothing
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