Rick Stein OBE didn't always harbour ambitions to be an award-winning chef. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, he spent a few years running a disco before buying a nightclub in Padstow.　　Rick later opened a restaurant that specialised in fish (supplied by the fishermen who had once frequented his club). He has run the Seafood Restaurant for more than 25 years. Since those early days, the Steins have added other local restaurants, shops and a takeaway to their Padstow venture.　　Rick has been received many awards for his work as a chef, teacher, presenter and author. He cooked twice for Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street, as well as for the former French president Jacques Chirac and for Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip. In January 2003, Rick was awarded an OBE for services to West Country tourism.