Rick Stein has finally come to terms with the death of his dad by suicide, the chef has revealed.
The Taste of Shanghai star was just 17 when his dad took his own life.
Eric Stein jumped to his death from a clifftop close to the family holiday home on the Cornish coast.
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Rick Stein – dad died by suicide
Rick Stein’s father took his own life at the age of 58 – when Rick himself was just 17.
Eric Stein suffered from bipolar disorder.
He jumped to his death from a clifftop close to the family’s holiday home on the Cornish coast.
Tragically, Eric jumped while walking along the coastline with Rick’s sister Zoe.
Risk has said: “They left Redland, our holiday home on the Cornish coast, and walked up the small road towards the lighthouse on Trevose Head.
“Three-quarters of the way up, they turned right to cut across to the cliff path.
“Just beyond a herring-bone slate wall with a tamarisk growing out of it, where the track runs very close to the cliff edge, my father turned to Zoe.
“‘I told you I’d do it,’ he said. Then he dived on to the rocks beneath.”
Dad-of-five Eric died in 1965, shortly after taking early retirement from his role as Managing Director at Distillers Company – then involved in the marketing of controversial drug Thalidomide.
What has Rick Stein said about the suicide of his dad?
Rick wrote about his father’s suicide in his 2013 memoir Under a Mackerel Sky.
In 2020, he told the Radio Times: “The suicide of a parent is a kick in the teeth.
“But I have to say that latterly – and I never would have believed this – I’m much more aware of my father’s positive side.
“The older I get, the more I want to be like him.
“My dad was called Eric and sometimes Sas [Rick’s wife Sarah] will say to me, ‘Oh, we’re Eric this morning, are we?'”
He added: “Oh my gosh, I’m so much older than he was when he died.
“But there you go. You know, I think I have probably forgiven him.”
As a grown up, Rick later discovered his father had unsuccessfully attempted suicide on at least two separate occasions before.
Distraught by his father’s suicide, a 19-year-old Rick travelled to Australia, where he worked as a labourer in an abattoir and as a clerk in a naval dockyard.
He also travelled to New Zealand and Mexico around that time to “take some time out”.
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How old is Rick Stein?
Christopher Richard Stein was born on January 04 1947.
He is currently 74 years of age.
Where is Rick Stein from?
The TV chef was born in Churchill, Oxfordshire.
However, he moved to Padstow in Cornwall as a young adult and is famous for his restaurants there.
His impact on the economy of Padstow is such that it has been nicknamed ‘Padstein’.
Rick Stein dad suicide – is Rick married?
Chef Rick met his first wife Jill Newstead in Padstow.
They married in 1975 and set up their restaurant and hotel business.
The pair have three sons together – Edward, Jack and Charles – who are all involved in the family business.
Rick and Jill divorced in 2007 after she discovered he’d been having an affair with Sarah Burns for five years.
The chef met Sarah – 20 years his junior – in Australia in 1997, when she was a publicity manager for Australia Gourmet Traveller magazine.
Rick and Sarah married on 7 October 2011, although he and first wife Jill continued to run their business together.
Rick Stein’s restaurants
Food fans probably know Rick Stein best for his restaurants in Padstow, Cornwall.
These include The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc’s Bistro, Rick Stein’s Cafe and Stein’s Fish and Chips.
He also oversees The Cornish Arms in St Merryn, Cornwall, and Rick Stein, Fistral, in Newquay.
Rick has eateries in Marlborough, Sandbanks, Barnes and Winchester, too.
He’s the author of multiple cookery books, and the star of dozens of BBC TV shows.
Rick Stein’s Taste of Shanghai airs on Wednesday November 03 2021 at 8pm on BBC Two.
If you are suffering from suicidal ideation, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 on their free helpline, email [email protected] or visit their website here.
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