Rick Stein's surprise retirement verdict after horror health battle sparked surgery

Rick Stein has opened up on his retirement plans (Image: Getty)

Renowned chef Rick Stein has been candidly reflecting on the significant changes in his life since undergoing heart surgery.

In 2022, he bravely faced open-heart surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital to repair a defective heart valve.

Since then, he has expressed that his recovery has left him feeling "tremendously optimistic," providing him with a renewed perspective on health and well-being.

He told The Mirror at the time: “To be honest, having had the operation and recovered, the improvement in my health has left me tremendously optimistic.

“Even though at my age and with the normal realities of life, I'm not going to last that much longer... I think as long as you've got your health and you're optimistic generally and enjoying your life, you don't tend to ponder too much about how little life you've got left.”

Rick Stein has written a number of famous cookbooks (Image: Getty)

As he approaches his 78th birthday in January, Stein shows no signs of slowing down in his career. It comes as he is preparing to celebrate 50 years in the hospitality business next year.

Speaking to Radio Times, he shared that he feels "no need to retire," adding, "I tend to try and keep away from any meaningful decisions. I'm now just really involved in quality control and new recipes."

He also detailed how he likes to stay young and energised, telling the publication: "I swim virtually every day and I walk quite a lot."

Excitingly, he also plans to expand his restaurant business, with hopes of opening the company's first central London branch.

The 77-year-old presenter opened his first fish restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall in 1975 (he now has 10 across the country) and hosted his first TV show in 1985.

Rick is a famous chef (Image: Getty)

“We’re not imminently opening, but we are looking. Seriously looking,” he shared.

Recently, Stein has been busy with new projects, including his latest series, Rick Stein's Food Stories, where he explores various regions of the UK, sampling local dishes and meeting fascinating individuals along the way.

Speaking about the show, he told PA: “Generally, we can only benefit from other cultures coming into this country and one of the biggest ways that we benefit is through food and through dishes from all over the world.

“Where would we be, for example, in this country, without Indian cuisine, which is a very important part of the nation’s favourite dishes, or Italian cuisine.”