His first Sydney venue opens today, with views to the sea, and on the menu is Cornish-style fish and chips and fish pie, French-style lobster thermidor and a heady Singapore blue swimmer crab.
Rick Stein first encountered oysters Charentaise while travelling near La Rochelle off the west coast of France. “It was a dish of raw oysters with hot, small, spicy sausages,” the British celebrity chef recalls.
“What I love about it is the sequence of tastes: the cold raw oyster, followed by a bite of the spicy sausage, then a sip of cold Muscadet.”
It’s one of many dishes that Stein has collected over years of eating and cooking abroad, now making an appearance on the menu at his new Sydney restaurant, Rick Stein at Coogee Beach, which opens today, December 1. The 220-seat restaurant and bar is in the InterContinental hotel, just steps from the shoreline. “They’re all dishes that I have discovered and fallen in love with on my travels around the world,” he says.
Like Stein himself – who has dozens of food and travel cookbooks and TV shows to his name – the menu roams widely, from a heady Singapore chilli crab to a Sri Lankan pumpkin curry with mango chutney, and a French-style lobster thermidor in a white wine cream sauce.
What also ties the menu together is a liberal use of seafood, sourced through Get Fish at the Sydney Fish Markets. “We work closely with Frank Theodore, who I know well – he hand-selects our produce,” Stein says.
An ice bar displays Pambula, Port Stephens and Merimbula rock oysters, alongside fillets of salmon, kingfish, tuna and scallops, ready to be sliced and arranged on Stein’s sashimi plate. Blue swimmer crab, rock lobster, and mussels are piled high on a fruits de mer platter, served with fresh lemon and a mustardy Breton mayonnaise.
Stein’s Cornish-style fish and chips are expected to be the bestseller – no surprise given the restaurant’s position overlooking the beach. They’re cooked in the traditional British way, in beef dripping, with chunky chips and a scoop of mushy peas. Stein is using hapuka fish. “It’s a large, deep fish closely related to seabass, which is very popular in Cornwall. I like a good thick fillet of fish in fish and chips,” he says.
While tallow has recently become NSW’s trendiest way to fry chips (find it at Olympic Meats and Rosie’s), Stein has been doing it this way for decades. “My original enthusiasm came from a trip to Harry Ramsden’s famous emporium in Guisley near Leeds in Yorkshire. I was struck by the enticing aroma that reminded me of roast beef, and I now consider dripping to be the traditional (and best) way of deep-frying.”
Stein currently spends around three to four months of the year in Australia, dividing his time between Sydney, London and Padstow – the holiday town on Cornwall’s north coast where he runs his flagship venue, The Seafood Restaurant, along with a more casual bistro, cafe, and fish-and-chip shop. On a day-to-day basis, the Sydney kitchen is run by head chef Colin Chun, a former executive chef at Hilton and Accor hotels.
Stein’s wife and business partner, Sarah (Sass) Stein, worked with Kate Greenwood of Studio Aria on the interiors, which carry the seafood theme into the soft furnishings. Large coastal artworks by Bridgit Thomas feature on the walls and menus, while blue patterned-style floor tiles and woven texture give the space the light, relaxed feel of a scene from Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes.
Stein’s favourite place to sit is the 10-seat kitchen table. “I like a bit of theatre, and often go for bar stool-style seating, in this case, by our Ice Bar, where I can watch the chefs in action.” He’s equally fond of “The Snug”, the semi-private dining nook beside the bar, which displays some of his best-selling cookbooks and his Coves of Cornwall ceramics, all available to buy.
The dining room is fronted by glass bi-fold doors that open in good weather, bringing diners even closer to the beach.
Open Mon to Thu 6pm until late; Fri, Sat and Sun 12pm until late.
Rick Stein at Coogee Beach, 242 Arden Street, Coogee, ricksteinatcoogeebeach.com.au.
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Erina Starkey – Erina is the Good Food App Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously, Erina held a number of editing roles at delicious.com.au and writing roles at Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.
