My food hero!

I was watching the Sri Lanka and Bali installment of Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey tonight when he stopped to mention the impact of the civil war which was in full swing at the time of filming. He said something then that sums up my sentiments exactly "Food is about good times even if there are terrible things going on all around you".

Despite his tendency to be accident prone and rather awkward in the studio kitchen I love Rick Stein. There is a simplicity to his approach to food that reflects his fundamental decency and capacity to relate to ordinary people. I have his book Mediterranean Escapes and have watched many of his television programmes like Food Heroes and have sensed in both that his recipes reflect the connections made with real people.

I think his works also reflect the camaraderie he has with his production team. I can feel the sheer pleasure he takes in being with people while they do all manner food related activities. I get a real sense that he and his production team are able to put individuals and the general public at ease while shooting.

It came as no surprise when I heard Rick utter that wonderful quote. It tells me that the lives and conditions of ordinary people are not far from his mind.