Stein’s at Cheltenham

This month, we sat down with Jack Stein, Chef Director of the Stein Restaurant Group, to talk about the new ‘Steins at Cheltenham’ restaurant. Witty, laid-back, and effortlessly charismatic, Jack is a Cornish native and keen surfer. He carries the easy confidence of someone who’s spent his life close to the ocean, and it shows in everything from his food to his philosophy.

Growing up in one of the Britain’s best known culinary families, Jack speaks with immense pride of the work of his parents, Rick and Gill Stein. While his love of food might have been absorbed by osmosis, his success is entirely his own. He’s grafted his way up from the bottom, starting as a kitchen porter back in 1992 and is now responsible for shaping the future of the Stein Restaurant group.

It wasn’t always obvious that he’d follow his father into the kitchen. It was at university, while cooking for friends, that Jack realised he might know a little more about flavour than most. While his mates were tucking into late-night kebabs, he was hosting dinner parties and it quickly became clear that hospitality was in his DNA.

The Stein Restaurant group is a family affair. His mother Gill, is responsible for the interiors of the Stein Restaurant group and together with Rick, they created a winning formula. Simple perfectly cooked food, using authentic Cornish ingredients in a hospitable and buzzy atmosphere that people want to enjoy. Now Gill is joined by Jack’s elder brother on the interiors side. His younger brother Charlie is responsible for the drinks side and has carefully curated a collection of Cornish beers, as well as Cornish sparkling wine and some fine wines from across the globe. Together with his father Rick, Jack takes care of the food. “We just let the ingredients talk for themselves” Jack comments.

Like Rick, Jack has a love of travelling and has cooked all over the world, in places such as La Regalade in Paris and Tetsuya’s in Sydney. He’s also a successful broadcaster and face of ITV’s Cooking with the Stars. His TV career has even taken him and his brother Charlie to South Africa where they rode at full gallop across the beach!

Cheltenham Festival racegoers that choose to eat in Stein’s at Cheltenham are in for a real treat. Cheltenham fans are renowned for knowing their racing. “Every race matters” comments Jack, “we’re really looking forward to complimenting their day with a little haven away from the adrenaline of watching the racing, with some lovely foods, good Cornish produce and of course a traditional Cornish welcome. So that they’re set up for the adrenalin of the racing”. And for Jack, the ultimate adrenaline moment would come if Constitution Hill gained redemption after last year’s disappointment in the Champion Hurdle!

Whatever happens on the turf, one thing’s certain: racegoers dining at Stein’s are in for a treat, a taste of the sea, served with warmth, wit and that unmistakable Stein magic.

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