Celebrity Chef Rick Stein Credits Oxfordshire Accent to Childhood Upbringing

Celebrity chef Rick Stein has revealed that his distinctive “Oxfordshire accent” can be attributed to his upbringing in the county. Speaking to The Times, Stein explained that during his early teenage years, he identified more with the working-class people on his family’s farm near Chipping Norton and wanted to distance himself from the posh accents associated with the upper class.

Stein stated, “So I took on a bit of an Oxfordshire accent.” This revelation came as the renowned chef reflected on his expansive career as a restaurateur, writer, television presenter, and chef.

Stein, now 77 years old, recently underwent open-heart surgery in June 2022, leading him to express that he may not be around much longer. He also discussed his time at Oxford University, where he studied English in the early 1970s.

Before attending university, Stein spent several years traveling in Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. However, he dismissed the notion that his experiences abroad made him a “confident dude,” stating that there was no gap between leaving school and starting university.

Stein elaborated, “If you leave school and go straight to university, there’s no gap. You carry on in that academic state of mind. I’d been hitchhiking around the world, working in an abattoir in Australia, working my passage across the Pacific. So I was slightly different. But the idea that you become this confident dude who’s done all this stuff is ridiculous, because they’re all into the whole academic thing.”

Stein also recounted a traumatic car accident he experienced as an undergraduate. After a night of drinking, he crashed into roadworks on the A34 while speeding towards north Oxford. The accident left his then-girlfriend, Jill Newstead, seriously injured. She even risked losing her life while Stein was detained in a police cell after the crash. Fortunately, Newstead recovered, and they got married in 1975.

In the same year, the couple established the Seafood Restaurant, a bistro located in Padstow, Cornwall. Over the years, their business has expanded to include multiple establishments, including four restaurants, a bistro, a cafe, a seafood delicatessen, a pâtisserie shop, and a cookery school.

Stein is also known for his cookery books and has presented numerous cookery shows for the BBC. In 2007, he divorced Jill Newstead and later married Sarah Burns, whom he met in Australia in 1997. In the interview with The Times, Stein expressed his determination to make the most of the time he has left.