Early in January, your clients can watch celebrated chef Rick Stein take a trip down memory lane, retracing his steps as a teenage backpacker in Australia.  Airing from January 6 on BBC One and iPlayer, the six-part series will follow Stein as he embarks on a 5,000km road trip through six diverse regions of New South Wales.

Speaking to TTG at Australia House in London at a special event to launch the series, Stein said it had been an emotional filming experience – he was just 17 when his father, who had bipolar disorder, ended his life, and not long after, Rick took himself to Australia.  

“Australia was an enormous change in my life really,” he said of the period. “Getting away from a very loving family and just feeling free, and I think that’s what Australia does for a lot of people. It allows them to readjust themselves and be slightly different people.”


The series is packed with Rick's culinary adventures and encounters with stakeholders who have helped turn Australia into one of the world’s great gourmet destinations.  


© Mark Chilvers

“When I was backpacking in the Sixties, there were Italian and Greek communities [in Australia] but nobody ate Italian and Greek food. Now we think about the influence both those countries have had on [its cuisine] and that’s only the beginning…Australia is almost unique in being really open to food from other parts of the world.  

“I just remember going to be people’s houses in the Sixties and getting a lot of mince. Mince is not something you can wax lyrical about in any country,” he joked.

In the series’ first episode, viewers will see Stein explore Sydney’s multicultural influences, from Chinatown to tasting native-ingredients dishes created by First Nations chef, Midden’s Mark Olive.  

“I loved Mark, his food was fantastic, and he was really enjoying the fact that people around the Opera House are such posers. He’s commercial but he brings Indigenous food in a way that’s very natural.”

Stein noted how Australian chefs are using more Indigenous flavours and ingredients. “You can’t go all the way with bush tucker because it becomes a bit of a joke,” he said. “You just need to use it in a sensible way, and add a little touch of this and a touch of that. For example, I really liked finger limes, which haven’t really made it to the UK.”


The second episode focuses on Central Coast and the Hawkesbury River region, where Stein tastes oysters straight from a Sydney Oyster Farm and strolls around Woy Woy’s farmers markets and waterfront cafes.

© Destination New South Wales

A highlight for Stein was filming with an Indigenous mother and daughter along the Hawkesbury River, and hearing their stories about mythical creatures and rock engravings that are central to Indigenous culture: “I began to understand the way that Indigenous people feel about the country,” he said.  

As Stein continues up the coast, viewers will watch him explore Byron Bay, Ballina and Coffs Harbour, where seafood, tropical fruit and macadamias into play. Rick teased that viewers could even see him strip off for an ocean dip, although his wife stopped him from being goaded into a swimming challenge that he wasn’t equipped for.  

“I really like the connection between Aussies and the sea. It's just very natural that everybody joins in,” he said.


By episode four, the series is covering New South Wales’ outback, for a shift in pace and scenery. Here Stein investigates the Brewarrina Fish Traps, an ancient 40,000-year-old engineering marvel and one of the world’s oldest human-made structures.

Although Stein is almost universally complimentary about Australian-produced food, he did concede there was one menu item he wasn’t so keen on:
“Anywhere you go [in Australia] you’re going to eat well, except I have to say in one or two outback pubs. They love a chicken schnitzel. And occasionally a special is a chicken schnitzel with a pizza topping.”


His two stand-out meals were Margaret, from chef-restauranteur Neil Perry, and Cantonese restaurant Mr Wong. Both these Sydney venues, incidentally, appear on in the list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

© Destination New South Wales

He had another top recommendation, which appears in episode five: “One of my fondest memories of the 60s was the great hamburgers in Australia. I remember coming back and announcing to my family I wanted to open a hamburger restaurant. The place I had particularly remembered was Niagara Café in Gundagai [which dates back to 1902], and it’s been lovingly restored to its art deco glory. The new owners have retained the burgers that I remember…the beef patty, with beetroot, cheese, pineapple, fried egg and bacon all optional. I just love those burgers, I don’t think anybody does a better burger in the world, to be honest.”

In the final episode, Rick ends up at the Sapphire Coast, calling at the heritage-listed Federal Hotel in Nimmitabel, which dates back to the 1800s. His tour winds up at Rick Stein at Bannisters Mollymook, an iconic Australian restaurant, boasting stunning coastal views from its headland location.  

Rick hopes that viewers will take many things away from the series, not least Australia’s diverse landscapes, beautiful beaches, and down-to-earth people.  

His own personal revelation was the outback: “The outback is incredibly soulful. We filmed in Iceland recently, and I felt the same sort of sensation… when you're in the presence of enormous amounts of nature, as you are in Australia or Iceland, it has a really calming effect on you.”