Jack Stein grew up inside one of Britain’s best-known restaurant families, but his professional identity now extends beyond being Rick Stein’s son. As Chef Director of the Stein restaurant business, he oversees the food direction and menus across a group whose roots go back to The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall. He has also built a television career, written a cookbook and developed a cooking style shaped by Cornwall, France, Australia and Asia.
His story is a combination of inheritance and experience. Jack worked in the family business from the bottom, studied subjects far removed from professional cooking, spent time in international kitchens and eventually returned to help steer the hospitality brand created by Rick and Jill Stein.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jack Stein |
| Profession | Chef, television presenter and author |
| Known For | Chef Director of the Rick Stein restaurant group |
| Born | October 1980 |
| Birthplace | Cornwall, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Parents | Rick Stein and Jill Stein |
| Siblings | Ed Stein and Charlie Stein |
| Education | BSc in Psychology and Master’s in Ancient History, Cardiff University |
| Current Role | Chef Director, Rick Stein Restaurants |
| Cookbook | Jack Stein’s World on a Plate |
| TV Work | Born to Cook, Inside the Box, Cooking with the Stars |
| Notable Recognition | Best Chef at the 2023 Food Reader Awards |
| Industry | Food, hospitality and television |
From Padstow Kitchen Porter to Chef Director
Rick and Jill Stein opened The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow in 1975, creating the business that became closely associated with fresh fish, Cornish produce and relaxed hospitality. The family remains involved, with Rick and Jill still at the helm and their sons working across food, wine, design and other areas.
Jack’s introduction to hospitality was practical. He worked as a kitchen porter during school holidays and later as a waiter. After university, he returned as a commis chef at The Seafood Restaurant before progressing to sous chef at Rick Stein’s Café. That route gave him experience of restaurant work before he moved into senior culinary responsibility.
He became Chef Director in 2017. Rather than running one kitchen, he oversees menus across the restaurant group and works with suppliers, chefs and teams on the food served under the Stein name. The company still describes him in that role in 2026.
The University Detour Before a Return to Food
Jack’s academic background is unusual for a professional chef. At Cardiff University, he completed a BSc in Psychology and then a Master’s degree in Ancient History. Those qualifications did not become his long-term profession, but they show that joining the restaurant business was not simply an automatic next step after school.
Food remained the stronger pull. In a 2026 interview reflecting on the family’s restaurant history, Jack recalled early trips to France with his parents and growing up around the business. Food was part of everyday family life long before it became his full-time career.
Learning Beyond the Family Restaurants
An important part of Jack Stein’s development came outside Cornwall. Official biographies say he worked at La Régalade in Paris and travelled through Australia, the Far East and Japan, including time in the kitchen at Tetsuya’s in Sydney.
Those influences appear in his cooking. He often combines British or Cornish ingredients with techniques and flavours associated with other cuisines, expanding on the Stein emphasis on seafood and produce rather than abandoning it.
That approach became especially visible in his cookbook, Jack Stein’s World on a Plate: Local Produce, World Flavours, Exciting Food. Published by Absolute Press, an imprint of Bloomsbury, in July 2018, the book contains 100 dishes drawing on his culinary travels and interest in British produce.
Building a Television Identity of His Own
Television has given Jack a profile beyond the restaurants. Jack Stein: Born to Cook followed him through Australia, exploring regional ingredients, producers and cooking traditions. Rick Stein appeared in the programme, but Jack was the central presenter.
He later fronted Jack Stein: Inside the Box, which took familiar British dishes into different international food cultures. Episodes ranged from fish and chips in Zagreb to British classics reworked in Bangkok, Tallinn, Singapore and Cape Town.
Jack also appeared with his younger brother Charlie in Wine, Dine and Stein. The 13-part series travelled through South Africa’s Durbanville Wine Valley, combining Jack’s food role with Charlie’s interest in wine.
For mainstream UK viewers, one of his most visible roles has been as a mentor chef on ITV’s Cooking with the Stars. He appeared across the first three series, including the 2023 season in which he was paired with former world champion boxer Chris Eubank.
What Jack Stein Does in the Rick Stein Business
The Chef Director title is central to understanding Jack’s current position. The business operates restaurants in Cornwall and beyond, including The Seafood Restaurant and Rick Stein’s Café in Padstow, as well as sites in Sandbanks, Winchester and Barnes. It also runs a cookery school, accommodation and retail operations.
Jack’s focus is food. Official material says he oversees menus, works with suppliers and supports kitchen teams. Charlie Stein concentrates on wine and drinks, while other family members remain involved in different parts of the business.
His work also reaches customers directly. Rick Stein’s Cookery School has offered a one-day Cooking with Jack Stein course based around dishes and techniques connected with his travels and cookbook.
Current event listings also show Jack working publicly within the business in 2026, including wine dinners with Charlie in Winchester, Sandbanks, Barnes and at the Padstow cookery school, pairing Jack’s menus with Charlie’s wine selections.
Recognition Beyond the Family Name
In 2023, Jack was voted Best Chef at the Food Reader Awards, which celebrate food and hospitality across South West England. Food Magazine reported that more than 100,000 votes were cast across the awards, with Jack winning the chef category while representing Rick Stein Restaurants.
The award gave independent recognition to a chef whose surname inevitably attracts attention. His credibility, however, rests on a broader record: years in restaurant kitchens, international experience, menu leadership, television work and a published cookbook.
Rick Stein’s Influence and the Family Connection
Rick Stein remains the most famous public figure in the family, so comparisons are unavoidable. Yet Jack’s career is better understood as an extension of the family’s food culture than an attempt to reproduce his father’s path. Both are closely associated with seafood and travel, but Jack’s work reflects his own experiences in Australia, Asia and restaurant management.
Jill Stein is also central to the business story. The company identifies Rick and Jill as founders and co-owners, while Jack is their middle son. His brothers Ed and Charlie remain involved too, with Charlie particularly associated with wine and Ed, alongside Kate Stein, with style and design.
The Seafood Restaurant passed its 50-year milestone in 2025. Jack’s position now places him among the family members responsible for carrying that identity into its next phase.
Conclusion
Jack Stein occupies an unusual position in British food: he is part of an established culinary family and a working chef with a career built through kitchens, travel, television and restaurant leadership. As Chef Director, he sits at the centre of the food served across the Rick Stein restaurants, while his international experience has given him a style connected to the family business without being limited by it.
For readers who know the Stein name mainly through Rick Stein, Jack represents the next generation already operating inside the business. His contribution is visible in the menus, cookery school, television work and continuing effort to connect Cornish produce with a wider world of flavours.
FAQs.
What is Jack Stein known for?
Jack Stein is a British chef, television presenter and author best known as Chef Director of the Rick Stein restaurant group. He also appears on food television and has presented series including Born to Cook and Inside the Box.
Is Jack Stein related to Rick Stein?
Yes. Jack is the middle son of chef and restaurateur Rick Stein and businesswoman Jill Stein. He works in the family hospitality business alongside other members of the Stein family.
What did Jack Stein study?
He studied at Cardiff University, completing a BSc in Psychology followed by a Master’s degree in Ancient History before returning to restaurant kitchens.
Does Jack Stein have a cookbook?
Yes. Jack Stein’s World on a Plate was published in 2018 and combines British produce with flavours influenced by his international travel and restaurant experience.
What is Jack Stein’s net worth?
There is no reliable, publicly verified figure for Jack Stein’s personal net worth. Public records confirm business directorships, but company roles or restaurant revenues should not be treated as evidence of personal wealth.
Is Jack Stein still working for the Rick Stein restaurants?
Yes. The official Rick Stein website continues to list him as Chef Director, responsible for overseeing restaurant menus, and current 2026 event material describes him in the same role.
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