Going back to the 1970s is generally seen as a bad thing.
Not, however, when it comes to the prices you pay in a top restaurant – and that is exactly what TV chef Rick Stein is offering diners.
Celebrating 50 years since the inauguration of his main restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, he will be offering lobster for £2.80, seafood thermidor for £2.20, shellfish soup for 50p, and treacle tarts for 35p.
The lucky few who secure tables at a whole series of Stein restaurants involved in the temporary deal really cannot go wrong.
And the only catch is that wine, cocktails, and other drinks will be at 2025 prices. He’s not completely mad.
Rick, who is 78 years old, established his Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, which marked the beginning of his remarkably successful culinary profession, alongside his first wife Jill during the period when Harold Wilson served as Prime Minister and Margaret Thatcher became the first female leader of the Conservative Party.
Half a century on, the pioneering restaurateurs are no longer married – yet, remarkably, they do still run their restaurant empire together.
Rick expressed to The Caterer: ‘As we look back on the past five decades, we are deeply appreciative of everyone who has played a role in this extraordinary journey, including our devoted patrons, skilled staff, and exceptional suppliers.
To mark 50 years since the opening of his flagship eatery in Padstow, Cornwall, Rick Stein has rolled back prices to 1975
Rick, 78, launched his Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, the start of his astonishingly successful culinary career, with first wife Jill
Stein is offering lobster at £2.80, seafood thermidor at £2.20, shellfish soup for 50p, and treacle tarts for 35p
‘We look forward to all the celebrations this year.’
Jill added: ‘Little did Rick and I imagine when we opened our doors in 1975 that we would still be here 50 years later, celebrating half a century of the iconic Seafood Restaurant.
‘We hope to welcome you to join us in celebrating our Golden Year.’
The astonishing deal will be offered at lunchtimes for four days from Thursday February 6.
Locations involved are at the Seafood Restaurant as well as the Stein eateries in Winchester in Hampshire, Marlborough in Wiltshire, Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset, and Barnes, south-west London.
To put the bargain prices in context – also available are chilled melon at 30p, salmon, brill and sorrel terrine at 55p, and apple pancakes with Calvados sauce at 40p – the average weekly wage in 1975 was around £50.
Some 25 tables at participating restaurants will be set aside for community nominations, allowing people to put forward the names of those most deserving of the discounted lunch.
The rest of us will have to be poised for when bookings for the cut-price meals open at 10am on Friday next week.
Catch of the day! Stein will be offering the astonishing deal at lunchtimes for four days from Thursday February 6
Stein’s restaurant in High Street, Winchester, is also participating in the deal offering eye-wateringly low prices
Stein’s restaurant in Barnes is among those offering chilled melon at 30p, salmon, brill and sorrel terrine at 55p, and apple pancakes with Calvados sauce at 40p
And those who have not been able to afford to go to the Seafood Restaurant since its opening will find quite a lot has changed, aside from the prices, if they return.
Rick has recalled the design and build were all very amateur, saying: ‘Our first decor in the Seafood Restaurant was just a load of old herring nets, red checked tables and candles in bottles.
‘And as for health and safety, I did a lot of the plumbing. I did a bit of the gas plumbing as well. You’d be locked up, throw away the key these days..’
Rick and Jill opened what was initially a small bistro by the harbour of Padstow in north Cornwall, after his previous venture, a nearby nightclub, was closed down by police over multiple brawls among fishermen.
The opening publicity campaign involved leaflets on car windscreens and the future TV star shouting through a megaphone on a neighbouring caravan park.
Rick has since opened numerous more eateries locally, including a café, a deli, and patisserie, earning the whole town the nickname ‘Padstein’.
He has opened more restaurants across the country – now ten in total, plus a pub, guest accommodation, and four shops – not to mention writing dozens of books, and hosting a whole series of food programmes on TV, including Long Weekends.
He and Jill split in 2002, five years after he began an affair with his publicity manager Sarah Burns, 20 years his junior. In 2006, in an infamous Padstow bust-up, Jill slapped both Rick and Sarah.
Yet while Rick and Sarah are now married, he and Jill have continued working together, along with their sons Edward, Jack and Charlie.
