Rick Stein joined fellow chefs at his flagship Padstow restaurant yesterday to launch a cookbook to help fund the town's Christmas festival, writes Sarah Pitt.
Mr Stein, who is about to jet off to India to film his next BBC TV series, was at The Seafood Restaurant to promote The Padstow Cookbook.
It contains recipes from many big names of the Westcountry foodie scene, including Mitch Tonks, Mark Hix, Nathan Outlaw and Chris and James Tanner. Mr Stein himself has contributed rice with monkfish, saffron and red peppers, a recipe he will demonstrate at the Padstow Christmas Festival, held from December 7-9.
"I wanted a recipe that we are selling currently on the menu here in Padstow, and from my recent book, on Spain," said Mr Stein. "It is also something that is easy to demonstrate, but I think the main thing is that it is something that people can cook at home." The book is on sale at £9.95 at outlets around the town, including the tourist information centre.
Many of the chefs in the book will cook their chosen dishes at the festival.
They include fellow Padstow restaurateur Paul Ainsworth and chef-writer Hugo Woolley, whose breakfasts at his B&B on the outskirts of Padstow have been named the "best in the West". They joined Mr Stein at yesterday's launch.
Now in its fifth year, the Padstow Christmas Festival aims to attract locals and visitors to the town with a mix of music, arts, food, drink, live cookery demonstrations and entertainment.
"I really like the festival because it has a style to it," says Mr Stein.
"We've got some very good chefs taking part, all chums of mine, and it is also a good opportunity for us to socialise. When we are actually cooking we are competitive, but when we meet up we are not at all."
