TV chef Rick Stein has opened up about his health, admitting he fears he might not have long left to live but is making the most of what time he does have left.
Rick, 77, recently underwent a major heart operation and is feeling much better following the surgery. However, in a new interview he admits he's been thinking about death recently.
The culinary legend was out of breath for years before doctors said he needed surgery to save his life. Rick got the surgery last year at the Royal Brompton Hospital.
Prior to going under the knife, Rick's doctor saw his heart test results and said his aorta was in trouble. Medicine could help for a bit, but surgery was a must. "And then, a bit over a year ago, he said, 'You're going to have to have the op'," Rick recalls in his new interview.
Rick Stein says he's 'not going to last that much longer' in a new interview (PA)The chef went on to praise his wife and say: "But to be honest, having had the operation and recovered, the improvement in my health has left me tremendously optimistic. Even though at my age and with the normal realities of life I'm not going to last that much longer, I think as long as you've got your health and you're optimistic generally and enjoying your life, you don't tend to ponder too much about how little life you've got left."
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Speaking to The Times about his Cornish restaurant's performance, he argued that despite a reported pre-tax loss of £347,000 in 2022, the business is still healthy. He said: "I mean, that's a ridiculous thing. I can't remember why we were supposed to have made a loss, but we didn't - it was only part of the business. We're making profits but, crikey, it's hard work at the moment."
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He detailed some of the challenges they've faced in the form of high fish prices and surging gas costs. He added: "We got clobbered with gas prices. We had to commit [to a price] at the beginning of that year and we thought we'd got it right but we hadn't. We're not going to go bust, but it's not a great time to have a business."
Discussing the issue of attracting skilled staff to restaurants, he said, "The problem with restaurants - unless you're someone that's been on TV or has Michelin stars - is how do you get young talented people to come and work for you? In the early days in my place, something like 25 per cent of the chefs were good. The rest were probably not going to end up being chefs and would do things like put sugar in your boiled potatoes, you know? It would drive you nuts."
Reflecting on his own behaviour in the kitchen though, he claimed that any anger displayed was never from a place of spite. He shared an amusing anecdote, saying: "But it wasn't really that I was vindictive or aggressive. I would always apologise when I lost it. It was quite funny. I always remember having a go at a chef called Andy and I caught him, just for a split second, about to smile, about to laugh."
"In my autobiography I got one of the waitresses to say what I was like - she's still working for us, which must be a good sign. She said, 'He used to get into a right old state with people asking for mixed salads. He just didn't like mixed salads, the old-fashioned one with tomato and cucumber. And so we used to have to make one quietly round the corner where he couldn't see.' "
An Evening with Rick Stein runs March 15-30, kicking off in Buxton, Derbyshire. For details, see rickstein.com/tour
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