Rick Stein COMING TO AUSTRALIA SAVED MY LIFE

Despite some health issues, the celeb chef is happier than ever

- Paul Ewart

Culinary genius, restaurateur, author and globally recognised small screen icon - Rick Stein wears many (chef's) hats.

In a career spanning five decades, during which he's published 20 bestselling cookery books and starred in more than 30 TV shows, the British chef's affable personality, infectious enthusiasm for good food and no-nonsense cooking style has earned him a wide assortment of fans from around the world.

While he's travelled the globe several times over, it was his first visit to Australia in 1967 that kickstarted a lifelong love affair with the country.

"The food wasn't up to much!" the 75-year-old chef jokingly recalls. "A bit like British food, roasts, fish and chips, dodgy Chinese, or at least where I went, but great burgers with beetroot, bacon, cheese and even pineapple, if you were so inclined."

However, his first visit to our shores was prompted by a sudden tragedy. When Rick was 18, his father Eric took his own life following an ongoing battle with bipolar disorder.

"My immediate reaction to it was to come to Australia," he says. "I just wanted to get away from it all. Travelling here taught me to fend for myself really. That's why I took off on my own, to show that I could cope with my situation.

"I was on the run from the memory of my father," he has said in the past.

While backpacking as a teen was his first experience of life Down Under, these days there's a lot more tying him to our country namely his Aussie wife Sarah, who he affectionately calls "Sas".