WHEN Jack Stein graduated from university with a degree in psychology, his father Rick, Cornwall's world-famous celebrity chef, advised him to pursue a career beyond the kitchen.
All too aware of the sacrifices he himself had made while building up the family business and brand, Rick didn't expect, nor encourage, his middle son to return to Padstow to pick up where he'd left off.
A pot washer in the Seafood Restaurant in the charming fishing port in north Cornwall, Jack had progressed to front-of-house before heading off to university in Cardiff. His parents, Rick and Jill, no longer together but still business partners, hoped that time away at university would give him space to think about his future.
“I was working in the kitchen from the age of 12,” explains Jack, now chef director of the family firm. “It was cheaper to pay me to wash pots and pans than hire a childminder.
“Mum and Dad were both keen for me to go to university and do something completely different. I guess they thought time away from Padstow would allow me to decide for myself whether or not I wanted to work in the restaurant full-time.
“After graduating, I remember dad saying to me that I had a degree in psychology and didn't have to come back if I didn't want to. But I missed Padstow. Living in a city was great, but I love being by the sea. I used to spend a lot of time in the ocean. When you're working in a stressful job, it certainly helps.”
Jack, who also has a Masters in Celtic History, did some work experience in an insurance broker's, impressing them enough to be offered a job. But the chairman of the company came to visit him in Padstow and, once again, Jack found himself on the receiving end of career advice.
“Maybe they'd regretted offering me the job,” he laughs. “Maybe it was his way of letting me down gently but the chairman told me I should stay in Cornwall. He said so many people moved there when they retired but I had the chance to live there and build a business.
“Lots of my friends who came from Cornwall had to move away because they didn't work in the tourism sector. I was fortunate to do a job I loved and was passionate about. So in the end, it was a no brainer. Yeah, I did a bit of soul searching for a while but I'm a home-bird really.”
Both his parents worked long hours to build the Stein culinary empire that has contributed so much to Cornwall's tourism success story. As a result, the three Stein sons, Ed, Jack and Charlie, saw little of their mum and dad for eight months of the year. These days, television shows like Doc Martin and Poldark draw even more tourists in and the restaurants are busy all year round. But when the boys were young, tourism was more seasonal and the Seafood Restaurant – the flagship of the empire – closed for four months of the year.
During this period, the family set off on their travels to pick up new ideas for their menus. To begin with, Rick indulged his love affair with France and there were many trips across the Channel. But then the adventures became more exotic. Jack was five years old when he first visited Thailand and 12 when he made his last childhood trip to India.
In between, there were holidays to Australia, China and the States. At the other end of the scale, he didn't dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant until he was almost 30, given his father's preference for simpler food.
Of course, the Stein name is synonymous with seafood and Jack, now 38, recalls the first time he ate oysters at the age of four. Eating seafood is still one of the great pleasure in life, he says, because it conjures of memories of childhood jaunts to Brittany and pulling apart shellfish with his hands.
Vicariously, he gained an appreciation of good, wholesome food, or 'soul food', as he calls it and after stints working in restaurants in Paris and Sydney, he went home again, re-entering the Seafood Restaurant as sous chef.
In 2013 Jack was promoted to the role of executive chef, overseeing the company's cookery school, restaurants and pub before being promoted to the post of chef director in 2017. He also launched his own cookery school and then followed his father into television, with his debut solo series, Jack Stein: Born To Cook launched in Western Australia.
Further television work followed and in 2018, he published his debut cookbook, World on a Plate.
Jack is passionate about sourcing local produce and believes places like Cornwall, Northern Ireland, Brittany and Galicia in Spain, share a 'Celtic connection' when it comes to producing great food. He makes a point of knowing all the fishermen who supply the restaurant by name. And he thinks that now, more than ever, it's important for restaurateurs to support the artisan producers; the fisherman and farmers who make their living from the land and sea.
One of the reasons he's come to Belfast is to discuss plans to make a new television show, celebrating the best of northern Irish food. Having worked with local man Jonathan Caldwell on a TV show called Inside The Box, Jack was introduced to Jonathan's Buella Life business partner, Gemma Garrett, and the idea for a show uncovering great food-related stories in Northern Ireland was first mooted.
The programme would see Jack as the teacher, with Gemma as the student, learning how to cook with local produce from a master of the art.
Jack was also a guest at an event organised by luxury brand Buella Life to mark International Women's Day 2020. He spoke about the role his mum Jill played in his life and in building up the Stein empire.
“There are so many amazing fisherman and farmers in Northern Ireland and I want to tell their stories, “ Jack says. “At this stage, we're just working on the concept of the show and we don't quite know how it will evolve but that Celtic connection we have is something I want to explore.”
Jack's connections with Belfast go beyond food and work. His Australian fiancee Lucy is of Irish descent. Her grand-father, a Belfast man, was a lecturer at Queen's University and her grand-mother hailed from the south.
Jack and Lucy still live in Padstow with their two toddlers, Milo and Arla. Rick, who is remarried to Sarah, and Jill live within a few miles of him. Jack's elder brother Ed is the interior designer of the business while younger brother Charlie is the wine expert. It's very much still a family affair.
At 73, Rick no longer cooks but is still very much at the heart of the business. Diners always ask if dad is around when they pop in, eager to meet Cornwall's culinary king. Jack says he's always about the place; tasting new recipes in the kitchen or chatting at the pass.
More likely than not though, Rick's to be found sitting at a table, sleeves rolled up, drinking wine and entertaining the guests.
“I used to come up with ideas like foraging or molecular gastronomy but Dad's view on food is simple; elbows on the table, a nice bit of fish on a plate, good wine and a buzzy atmosphere,” says Jack. “A beautiful location also helps.”
So what would Jack's advice be to his children if they decide their future lies in food?
“When I asked Dad if I should work in the restaurant all those years ago, he told me no,” says Jack. “I didn't listen to him then so I don't think I'd have a leg to stand on if I told my kids the same.”
