'I know I drink too much but life's too short and wine's too nice': TV chef Rick Stein under the microscope.

Friday, November 15, 2013

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Chef Rick Stein: 'I'm not that fussed about being "overweight" as I take enough exercise'

TV chef Rick Stein, 66, answers our health quiz.

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

I MAKE a point of not using escalators. I don't go to the gym, but swim virtually every day in the sea in Cornwall, winter and summer.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

If you cook regularly at home, you naturally bring lots of fruit and veg into your diet. I love English apples, so at this time of the year I'm in heaven. I don't avoid much, but I used to find pumpkins boring until I discovered sweeter varieties.

POP ANY PILLS?

NO - the only time a pill passes my lips would be perhaps an aspirin if I've got some sort of pain.

EVER DIETED?

Regularly - I'm dieting now. I'm nearly 6 ft and more than 15st; my ideal would be 14st. I'm classed as 'overweight' but I'm not that fussed as I take enough exercise. I eat a lot of meat and veg and cut out the carbohydrates. But not totally: I love bread. It's just about eating less.

ANY VICES?

I drink too much wine - on an average week about 40 units, double what it should be. I know I drink too much, but God, life's too bloody short and wine's too nice. I gave up smoking in my early 20s. At various times where I got a bit low, I took it up again, but haven't smoked for six years. The last time was when I broke up with my first wife, but I found myself getting sore throats and chest problems.
I love chocolate and my wife Sarah's always buying it. But nothing fancy; something like Cadbury's Fruit & Nut.

ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?

On my father's side there's quite a lot of cancer. My brother John and I recently went to a family reunion in Germany - Stein is a German name - and he pointed this out and the fact there's also a certain amount of mental illness. My father, who was bipolar, committed suicide, and my brother said: 'You know, a lot of our German relatives topped themselves.' My dad was only 48 when he died and for a long time I was worried I might be bipolar - or my children. But so far so good.

A man of vices: 'I drink too much wine and I love chocolates'

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

I got a bit depressed in my mid-20s. I thought about therapy, but that was probably what helped cure me; I worked out how much it cost and thought: 'I'm not that ill.'

HAD ANYTHING REPAIRED?

I've had two hernia operations, a real problem for chefs as you spend so many hours on your feet.

FAMILY REMEDY?

My mother gave us Dr Collis Browne's Mixture, which contained opium - it seemed to sort out stomach upsets and headaches.

HANGOVER CURE?

exercise - get out of the house and go for a walk or a swim. It gets your metabolism going.

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