Rick Stein has three restaurants in Padstow

He received an OBE for services to tourism.

Mr Stein is credited with creating a huge boost for tourism in Padstow and across Cornwall.

Rick Stein was born in Oxfordshire but has lived in Cornwall for 35 years. He runs three restaurants and a cookery school in Padstow.

New restaurant

Mr Stein, who last year cooked for the Queen at a Downing Street dinner, collected an OBE at the Palace investiture.

Honoured for services to tourism in south-west England, the 55-year-old said: "I have always thought that the West Country was undervalued, particularly abroad.

"My mission is to prove that British food, well cooked, is among the best in the world.

Mr Stein's businesses in Padstow have with an annual turnover of in excess of �4m.

He is currently is considering opening a new restaurant in London.

He has also bought a 50-room hotel in Newquay for what he describes as a "bargain price" of �600,000, which he plans to close for a year in order to convert into a stylish 25-room property.