It’s time again for the Long and the Short Reviews Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge.

Week five brings another cool topic…

My Celebrity Crushes

Like for most of the world, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth is a maaaaajor crush for me. That man… sigh. So, so beautiful.

But here’s one out of left field. I’ve had a crush for years on celebrity chef Rick Stein. I have most of his cookbooks and have eaten at his famous seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall and if I don’t get to Bannisters Port Stephens this year there is going to be trouble in the Hein house.

Me at Rick’s Seafood Restaurant in Cornwall. It’s England, so naturally it was raining the night we went.

I also embarrassed myself badly when I met him in person at a cooking demonstration.

This was back in the 2000s, before Rick decided to spend half his life in Australia. I’d learned he would be hosting a cooking demonstration in Port Melbourne at the Essential Ingredient to promote his new book Seafood Odyssey.

At the time I was living in Newcastle, a thousand kilometres away, but no way was I missing this. I resolved to drive down for the demo and conned my Melbourne based girlfriend Carol into coming along.

It was fabulous! I still remember the dishes he cooked and how chuffed I was when he was discussing substitute fish species for Murray cod and mentioned mahi-mahi but couldn’t remember its other name. Me, having been on a recent fish-cooking frenzy, remembered it was also called dolphin fish and called the name out, earning me a small accolade from Rick. Oh, the flushy-niceness that caused!

Then came the booksigning.

I was so excited that when it came to my turn in line and Rick asked me my name all I could do was giggle. Not a proper giggle, but one of those dopey teenage nerr-hee sounding things that makes you want to smack some sense into the giggler.

It was appalling. Anyone would think I was in the presence of Chris Hemsworth dressed as Thor instead of a celebrity chef. A very nice and erudite celebrity chef, I must say, but still.

Eventually I pulled myself together and told him my name and how to spell it, while Carol stood on the sidelines damn-near wetting her pants laughing at me.

With my precious signed copy of Seafood Odyssey.

Not my finest hour, but pfft! I got to meet Rick and that copy of Seafood Odyssey is one of my most treasured books.

Okay, so I’ve embarrassed myself revealing my celebrity crush. Who’s yours? Come on, we’re all friends here. Share away!

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