Celebrity chef Rick Stein has spoken of a harrowing moment from his youth, recalling how he was nearly “killed” while asleep during his travels abroad. The 78-year-old cook, celebrated for his food and travel programmes as well as his restaurant empire centred largely around Padstow in Cornwall, grew up in Churchill near Chipping Norton before studying at New College, Oxford. After graduating, he relocated to Cornwall in the early 1970s, where his hospitality ventures later flourished. Today, his businesses span several sites across Cornwall, a restaurant on Dorset’s exclusive Sandbanks peninsula, and others throughout the south of England.
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In an interview with The Times, Stein reflected on the years following his father’s death, explaining that he felt compelled to travel as far from home as possible. His journeys took him through Australia, the United States and Mexico, a country he described as “very special”.
However, it was there that he encountered what he now considers a life-threatening ordeal. Stein said he was captivated by the rugged charm of local bars, describing the experience of drinking chilled beer and tequila among cowboys. But the adventure soon turned dangerous. He recounted how he and two other English travellers were robbed while sleeping on a beach in Acapulco. “They managed to take our backpacks without waking us up, which I was told was quite lucky,” he said. “If we had disturbed them, they would probably have killed us.”
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Despite the terrifying episode, Stein continues to speak fondly of the country, while acknowledging how narrowly he escaped serious harm.
