Rick Stein's Cornwall

Rick Stein launches his new series about his home county of Cornwall with a trip back in time to his early days running a nightclub in Padstow. In Bude, there's just enough time for a bracing dip in the stunning sea pool. And in Sennen Cove off Land's End, Rick braves the notoriously wild Atlantic waters to learn about the ancient fishing method of handlining.

Rick Stein travels to St Ives to tell us about one of Britain's little-known artists, Alfred Wallis. In the shadow of Bodmin Moor Rick visits a very rare collection of Medieval stained-glass windows in the church of St Neot. It's here he ticks off an item on his bucket list by taking part in a rather unusual celebration called Oak Apple Day.

Rick meets Springwatch presenter and biologist Gillian Burke who takes Rick on a walk through a rare habitat called an Atlantic Temperate Rainforest, on the banks of the Helford River. Rick follows his passion for cured meats when he discovers a husband-and-wife team making premium Cornish salami.

Cornwall has more than its fair share of folktales. Perhaps the most famous is found near Land's End, where Rick recounts the tale of the Mermaid of Zennor. Not far from Zennor, Rick joins a small army of seaweed harvesters who are feeding an increasing appetite for a natural food more common in Japan.

Following in the footsteps of one of his literary heroes, Rick roams the dramatic north Cornish coast to tell the story of one of Britain's best loved writers, Thomas Hardy, and his little-known love affair with a Cornishwoman.

Cornish King Crab is on the menu for Rick tonight as he heads out of Newquay to catch and cook this tasty crustacean. Then it's a trip inland to Bodmin Moor to meet Robin Hanbury Tenison, one of the 20th century's last great explorers.

Rick boards the ferry in Penzance to take him to The Isles of Scilly, a group of islands which were once part of Cornwall. Here he finds out about the islands' rich history, including one of the Royal Navy's worst shipping disasters in which 1,500 men lost their lives.

Could you eat 700 samples of cheese a week? On a visit to a dairy, Rick meets a man who is paid to do just that. Your mouth may not be watering at the idea but it will be by the time Rick pulls his sumptuous cheese and chive scones out of the oven. The salty old fishing town of Newlyn is Rick's next stop and the unlikely setting, perhaps, of one of Britain's most revolutionary art movements.

Rick's in Falmouth to discover that far from being that 'bit on the end of Britain', Cornwall used to be at the very heart of our Empire's communication system and is still very much a working port today. It's the seas around Cornwall which inspired author William Golding to write his famous novel, Lord of the Flies.

In our fields and hedgerows are plants that are delicious, and plants that are deadly, as Rick learns from a professional forager who takes him on a tour around the beautiful Camel Estuary. Then it's a trip down memory lane with his long-time fish supplier Matthew Stevens who remembers Cornwall before the tourists came.

Rick joins a team diving for Razor Clams, which he takes back to the kitchen to make a quick but tasty dish of grilled Shangurro Clams. At the end of Newlyn Pier, Rick visits a scruffy little hut that until recently played a huge part in determining the height of everything around us.

Following in the footsteps of Turner, Rick discovers how much the Cornish landscape influenced his work. At Newlyn Fish Market, Rick counts in the daily catch with the head auctioneer who tells him how the market has adapted to modern times. Surrounded by beautifully fresh fish, Rick takes away some monkfish and fires up his BBQ to make a grillade of monkfish with roasted red pepper sauce. 

On the banks of the River Tamar, Rick visits a little-known mausoleum with a rather macabre story. On the wild Atlantic coast, near Bedruthan Steps, Rick meets fellow chef Emily Scott who recreates the meal she cooked for President Joe Biden during the recent G7 summit.

In the town of Looe, Rick discovers a time when the Cornish were taken as slaves by Barbary Pirates. He joins one of the last fishing boats in St Mawes and uses the catch of Lemon Sole to make a delicious warm salad. In Newlyn he meets with two entrepreneur chefs who are cooking mackerel to perfection.

Rick takes us to the Rame Peninsula. Far from the traditional tourist track this part of Cornwall is famed for its cliffs and beaches. It's also where he meets a beachcomber who has found some remarkable objects washed up on the shore.