Rick Stein Specials

In Rick Stein’s French Odyssey, award-winning chef Rick Stein embarked on a gastronomic odyssey to find all the glorious food and wine that France can offer. Starting at the mouth of the mighty Girdone River in Bordeux, he traveled along the rivers of Southern France on an eighty-year-old, hundred foot long barge which had been doing the trip for the best part of thirty years. This one-hour special takes a behind-the-scenes look at Rick Stein’s enviable journey from Bordeaux to Marseille during the making of the series, including his favourite dishes along the route.

An account of Rick Stein's rites of passage to becoming a seafood chef with humorous insights from those closest to him. A light-hearted look at his life and rise to fame in Padstow spanning nearly 30 years, that saw the poor mans' food become a gourmets' delight.

Challenged by the UK’s Japanese Ambassador to cook a Japanese banquet for his distinguished guests, Rick Stein spends one week visiting Japan’s vibrant fish markets and island restaurants aiming to master the art of cooking fish – Japanese style. Whenever Rick goes on one of his book signing tours people ask the same recurring question… what does he think about the seafood in Japan – surely the ultimate destination for serious lovers of fish? A couple of summers ago, during the filming of his TV series, ‘Food Heroes’, Rick was in a small boat off the Cornish coast catching loads of mackerel which he quickly turned into very tasty sashimi for every one on board. However when Mr. Nogami, the Japanese Ambassador and a big fan of Rick’s programs, saw it he was flabbergasted! Rick received a prompt invite to the Ambassador’s residence where he got to sample sashimi and other Japanese delicacies prepared by the Ambassador’s skilful chefs… And so the seeds were sown for Rick’s special trip to Japan to learn the art of Japanese cooking first hand. The challenge being, that on his return he’d have to prepare a Japanese banquet for the ambassador and his chums. Will Rick be able to learn enough to impress all at the banquet?

Wondering how to ring the changes for this year's Christmas feast? Rick Stein has some delicious new ideas which he brought back from his Far Eastern Odyssey. His travels have inspired him to come up with the answer to that big cooking dilemma facing us all at Christmas time - can there be an alternative to goose or turkey? In Sri Lanka, he continues his passion for seafood by taking part in a most unusual fishing expedition in the southern city of Galle and gets to sample Parava curry. Continuing his odyssey across the Indian Ocean, Rick tries out the night food stalls in the heart of Bangkok before taking a train south to Phuket for a hot and sour tom yum goong, the culinary icon of Thailand. Over the border in Malaysia, he visits the former heart of the spice trade, Melaka, to enjoy the delights of Nyonya cuisine and cooks his favourite Malay dish, beef rendang. His culinary tour ends in Bangladesh, the country that spawned thousands of Indian restaurants in Britain years ago. In Dhaka, he discovers the intricacies of making a true biryani.

Chef Rick Stein takes a light-hearted look at the role that food played in the creation of Italian opera and shows how music and food are intrinsically linked in Italy. He draws parallels between cooking and composing, noting how both involve the skilful combination of ingredients and how they share the common purpose of bringing pleasure to many. Rick also explains why he thinks the music of Verdi, Rossini and Puccini are linked to the food of the regions where they lived and worked.

The people of Cornwall are proud of the fact that they do things differently, and the Christmas celebrations in this beautiful part of England have their own unique flavours and sounds. Home for a while from his world-wide travel adventures, Rick Stein has a chance to enjoy Christmas in his beloved adopted county. In this special programme he joins in the ancient festival of Wassailing, tries out the famous ice rink at Eden, enjoys the company of Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends and cooks his own goose. With Cornish Christmas music and the occasional glass of Cornish beer and cider, this festive feast is guaranteed to get viewers in the best seasonal spirits.

The people of Cornwall are proud of the fact that they do things differently, and the Christmas celebrations in this beautiful part of England have their own unique flavours and sounds. Home for a while from his world-wide travel adventures, Rick Stein has a chance to enjoy Christmas in his beloved adopted county. In the second part of this Christmas special, Rick Stein and his chefs use local ingredients to create a Christmas banquet for all his Cornish friends, including the famous comedian Jethro, an old friend who, when they were younger, was a serious adversary on the rugby pitch.

The people of Cornwall are proud of the fact that they do things differently, and the Christmas celebrations in this beautiful part of England have their own unique flavours and sounds. Home for a while from his world-wide travel adventures, Rick Stein has a chance to enjoy Christmas in his beloved adopted county. In this special programme he joins in the ancient festival of Wassailing, tries out the famous ice rink at Eden, and enjoys the company of Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends. With Cornish Christmas music and the occasional glass of Cornish beer and cider, this festive feast is guaranteed to get viewers in the best seasonal spirits. Using local ingredients Rick and his chefs create a banquet for all his Cornish friends including the famous comedian Jethro - an old friend who, when they were younger, was a serious adversary on the rugby pitch.

Ever since the early 1960s, Rick Stein has been in love with the blues and years later he is fascinated by the dishes ingrained in its lyrics - fried chicken and turnip greens, catfish and black-eyed peas, and the rest. In this film, Rick pays homage to the musicians who created this music and to the great dishes of the Mississippi Delta that go hand in hand with the blues.

Rick Stein believes that no-one celebrates Christmas in greater style than the Spanish where the celebrations last for over a fortnight and the dishes they prepare are delicious alternatives to the usual Christmas fare. Having seen how his Spanish friends prepare for the festivities in their own homes both in Spain and the UK, Rick cooks for a special Christmas party in London to share the dishes that inspired him most and compliment the Spanish love of celebrations. This is a Christmas feast with a difference: clams with serrano ham and oloroso sherry, lamb stuffed aubergines with moorish spices, chicken with saffron and pine nuts, and orange caramel creams. The programme opens with a festive gathering in London and Rick is seen among some very close friends from Spain who have chosen to make Britain their home. Even the Spanish ambassador agreed to come along. Other guests include Jose Pizarro and Maria Jose Sevilla, two close friends who, together with Rick, prepare favourite family recipes that form part of their Spanish Christmas celebrations right here in the UK.

Rick Stein sets out on his German voyage with his usual appetite to unearth some of the country's hidden culinary gems. As always, Rick seeks out enticing fishing opportunities and is on the hunt for the most tantalising seafood - but this journey is different to most because it is one that is very close to Rick's heart. Although Rick has always known he was of German descent, he knows very little of his German family - but the one thing he is sure of is that he wouldn't have the business he has today without them. In the early 70s, he inherited £10,000 from a great uncle that he never knew, money which provided him with a great investment in his restaurant.

Shanghai is one of the biggest cities in the world and is rapidly expanding, but has it hung on to its culinary roots? Rick Stein wants to find out. 'We all love a Chinese - the sweet and the sour, the freshness, the crunchiness, the colours, the smell of five spice and soy. I'll be finding the pockets of traditional food still left in this city - the dishes that the Shanghainese long for away from home. I'm going to taste rich red braised pork, Chairman Mao's favourite, the city's cherished hairy crabs and mouthwatering dumplings, unique to Shanghai, so delicate they sag under the weight of the hot liquid inside and burst at the lightest touch. And I want to add a few more dishes to your Chinese repertoire. I'm going to share my favourite Shanghainese dishes from this trip. If, like me, you thought you knew Chinese food, you're in for a surprise.'.