Rick Stein’s Secret France – BBC2

(Image credit: BBC/Denhams)

The celebrated chef is taking another culinary road trip, returning across the Channel, in Rick Stein’s Secret France on BBC2

In BBC2’s new six-part series Rick Stein’s Secret France, the chef heads back to France to see if the rumours about the decline of French food are true.

In this first episode in Dieppe, he finds a gem of a restaurant hidden away, and enthusiastically tucks into turbot cooked in salt (for full listings, see our TV Guide).

Inspired by what he’s seen en route he cooks some beautiful dishes, starting with mussels in cider and crème fraiche.

It’s Rick at his best, meandering through beautiful countryside, chatting about history and art and, of course, eating and cooking delicious food along the way.

TV Times rating: ****

Joanne Lowles has been writing about TV since 2002. After graduating from Cardiff University with a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism, she worked for All About Soap magazine covering the ups and downs of life on the cobbles, the square and the Dales.

Next came nearly 10 years at TV Times magazine as a writer and then deputy features editor. Here she spent many happy days interviewing the biggest names in entertainment and visiting the sets of some of our most popular shows including Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and Strictly Come Dancing.

With a love of nature and wildlife she’s also interviewed the leading experts in this area including David Attenborough, Chris Packham and Steve Backshall. She’s also travelled the world visiting Mongolia, Canada and South Africa to see how the best in the business make the most brilliant natural history documentaries.

Freelance since 2013, she is now is a digital writer and editor for What to Watch, previews the best on the box for TV Times mag each week and loves being constantly surprised, entertained and informed by the amazing TV that she is lucky enough to watch.