Rick Stein has become something of a celebrity in the UK. Most people have flicked the TV on to find the Cornwall convert rustling up some seafood medley at some point in their lives.

Since the Nineties, Rick has taken the culinary TV world by storm, having appeared in a string of shows and written countless books.

He’s travelled the globe in the pursuit of all things tasty, taking us along the way.

Padstow, Cornwall, where he moved after graduating university, has become as much a part of his life as has food.

Not entering the world of cooking through the most traditional of routes, Rick flunked school and found himself on a trip to Australia shortly after his father’s death, as a 19-year-old.

Working as a labourer in an abattoir, and later a clerk in a naval dockyard, Rick likely never had a career as a TV chef in mind.

After taking time out to travel in New Zealand, Rick returned to the UK.

It was here he successfully applied to university and shortly moved to Padstow.

He set up a mobile disco with a friend that was soon closed down but managed to keep his food licence.

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The original sugar tax came as part of the 2016 Budget, announced by former chancellor George Osborne.

It introduced a levy on the soft drinks industry, taxing total sugar content over 5g per 100ml on drinks such as Coke, Red Bull and Irn Bru.

Speaking at the House of Commons at the time, Mr Osborne said: “I am not prepared to look back at my time here in this Parliament, doing this job and say to my children’s generation ‘I’m sorry. We knew there was a problem with sugary drinks. We knew it caused disease. But we ducked the difficult decisions and we did nothing’.”

In a 2019 interview, however, Rick relished the halcyon days of ten tablespoons of the sugary stuff.

Reflecting on how his temperament has cooled off through the years, he said: “It’s a lot better now. I think partly because my wife takes the p*** out of me all the time!

“I’ve got a real bee in my bonnet about the fact that sugar’s been taken out of so many drinks and replaced with artificial sweeteners.

“I do understand that there’s a real problem with obesity, but I find it slightly irritating that I can’t now buy the soft drinks I like without them.”

It’s not the only time Rick has expressed his political views.

Earlier on in the interview, Rick recalled his late, great friend and collaborator, David Pritchard.

He told of how despite their close friendship, the two disagreed on the divisive Brexit.

While Rick’s series exploring food in France was in production, David died from cancer.

Rick explained: “We all knew that he was going to die.

“We just wanted to make this series as nostalgia for a country that we both loved.

“I’ve filmed in France with David ever since we began making TV together 30 years ago and I wanted to share it with him.

“Funnily enough David voted to leave the European Union.

“And, I voted to stay.”