To the few who might wonder who the hell is this Rick Stein, I oppose the many who have certainly rather asked what the hell is the Bassac. Rick Stein is the chef of the BBC, a renowned specialist of the preparation of fish and the anchor of his own cuisine show, and this year on BBC, of Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey. The Bassac, is a boat.
We were approached by scouts from the BBC in late 2007, and at the time I have to admit I did not understand what it all was about. We hosted Rick Stein himself and the very professional Denham TV team on a trip back from Cambodia at Tết 2008. Seven people, all very friendly and relaxed, and turning at once as soon as the camera rolled into the precise cogs and wheels of a well-oiled production machine. You forgot them and were attached to the simple charm of Rick Stein.
Over three nights, Ánh’s team and Bassac II‘s chef Út cooked and baked, visited floating fish farms and markets with Rick Stein who himself prepared phở on board in Cần Thơ. These sequences were complemented at Rick Stein’s home by his own touches to a very Vietnamese fish dish.
The BBC broadcast the series in July this year, and then we began receiving calls from friends and former colleagues in the UK who had seen us on TV. Our 15 minutes, really, at first among friends. Such is Rick Stein’s fame that despite the crisis that struck the whole of the western world and the UK especially this year, we saw an increase in interest in our services from the British market where we expected a downturn.
The shooting was not only the occasion to mingle with the rich and famous, but also a demonstration in film-making, one of utmost professionalism and effectiveness, interspersed with relaxed evenings. I shall just evoke one we had on the river at Buoy Zero at the frontier with Cambodia, the most quiet place there is in Vietnam, on the first night.
Transmekong News 