Chef, entrepreneur and lover of food, wine and good company, Rick Stein is famous for such mouth-watering cookery books as Taste of the Sea and the recent India. A relaxed and engaging presence on his many television shows, he is also noted for his wide-ranging cultural interests. Now, his new autobiography, Under A Mackerel Sky, will give us a frank and unprecedented insight into his personal life. After an idyllic 1950s childhood in rural Oxfordshire, Rick’s adolescence was clouded by the suicide of his bipolar father. Emotionally adrift, he travelled to Australia, Mexico and America, trying his hand at a variety of jobs, including manual labour in the outback and a spell as the proprietor of a mobile disco (also well-known for its freeze-dried curries). After a long journey of self-discovery, Cornwall called him home and he found his true métier as a restaurateur. Rick is a natural raconteur with a wonderfully wry sense of humour – join us for tales from the life of this genial seafood impresario who is one of our best-loved personalities, both on-screen and off.