Behind the wheel with Rick Stein

Words: Danny Scott 

Where has been your favourite road trip destination?
Earlier this year, I rented a Subaru Crosstrek and set off around New South Wales in Australia, with a TV crew for company! Everybody knows about Australia’s coastal destinations but, if you want something totally different, head for the Outback. There’s a sense of space and peace out there that you won’t find anywhere else. 

What’s on your bucket list?
It irritates the hell out of me that I have never been to South America. My wife Sas and I have even fashioned a sort of basic itinerary: Brazil, then Argentina and finishing off in Peru. Come on, who doesn’t fancy a steak in Argentina? If any TV companies want to commission me, please get in touch. 

What’s your ultimate travel song? 
Absolutely anything by Van Morrison. I’ve been a fan since I first heard him in the 1960s and he always ends up on the car stereo. Yes, I adore the early stuff like Astral Weeks, but then you’ve got the great 1980s albums like Poetic Champions Compose. I’m sure it annoys whoever’s travelling with me: “Oh God, not Van-bloody-Morrison again!”

What is your most dramatic road trip story?
It must have been 20-odd years ago, making a programme in Puglia, Italy. We parked up the Land Rover – plus 30 grand’s worth of gear – had a walk around, came back and it had disappeared. We were devastated, of course, and about to head back to the UK when we were told that a local bigwig had heard what happened and he wasn’t happy. Couple of hours later, the Land Rover turned up. All that was missing was one of my polo shirts.

What are your packing essentials? 
A Moleskine notebook, a handful of pens for jotting down recipes and a small electric razor because I always cut myself wet shaving. 

Do you have any clever travel hacks?
Do yourself a favour and travel light. I see these people with five suitcases on a trolley, and I wonder where they’re going and for how long. A year! My wife also has one very clever travel hack...If her suitcase is already full of shoes and dresses, she starts sneaking her stuff into my suitcase. I open my case at the hotel and it’s packed with women’s toiletries! 

What’s your dream car? And where would you most want to drive it?
When I did my programme driving around France some years back, the director wanted me to drive an old MGB. Gorgeous car, but it’s just not me. In the end, I said, “Why don’t I take my Porsche Carrera?” It’s more than 20 years old, it’s nothing fancy, but I love it. Where would I want to drive it? The back roads of France, stopping off for lunch at one of those little family-run cafés. 

Do you think you’re a good traveller?
It’s in my blood. Even as a kid, I was always interested in what was around the next bend. Not that there’s anything wrong with staying at home, but I find release in the idea that I’m on my way to a different bit of the world. If I couldn’t travel, I would be very miserable. 

What’s been your craziest travel experience to date?
When we were filming in Australia this year, we stayed in a town called Moree. It was very hot, and there was a swimming pool. We were all about to jump in and this large group of gnarly looking men started ambling towards us. One of them said, “Hey, you’re that chef off TV. We’ve just been released from prison.” I thought there was going to be trouble, but they were great. We had a right laugh. 

If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be, and why?
I do spend part of the year in Australia, but if I ever thought about a full-time move, it would have to be Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, which is...I suppose you’d call it a posh bit of Provence. I’ve filmed there, I’ve been on holiday there and it’s just got everything: the landscape, the people, the food, the produce.

Rick Stein’s Christmas (£28, BBC Books) is out now

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