gavin esler meets chef and restaurateur, rick stein.lcome to talking books, with me, gavin esler. we are in london where it is no exaggeration to say, some 30 years ago, the food was pretty terrible. nowadays, it is home to plenty michelin star restaurants. one of those responsible for this transformation is the restauranteur and author, rick stein. i'm going to meet him to find out how his love of simple ingredients and travel informs his writing and his cooking. in restaurant kitchens, everything is all prepped up before you start. this is a way of cooking fish which i really like, which is actually cooking it under the salamander. it's quite a sort of pure way of cooking. so there we go. rick stein, hello, and welcome. you have, as i say, written a lot of books. do you find the act of writing quite difficult? because you did it, first, didn't you, the very first one you did? yeah, my first book was called english seafood cookery and i called myself richard stein, because "rick" sounded a bit racy, a bit american. was it difficult to

and at 10.30am in talking books, gavin esler talks to the chef and author rick stein on how british foodas improved dramatically over the last 30 years. the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, believes an attempt has been made on his life. officials said drones loaded with explosives were flown towards a military parade he was attending — they exploded, injuring seven national guards. the president, who was in the middle of a speech, was unharmed. shortly afterwards, he spoke of a right wing conspiracy against him, involving domestic enemies and neighbouring colombia. lebbo dissekko reports. president maduro is in the middle of his televised speech when this happened. the camera shakes, his wife looks up and then he does. the pictures then cut to soldiers at the event, who we see running. officials say two drones packed with explosives had been flown towards the parade and exploded, injuring seven soldiers. and in the aftermath have come recriminations. the communications minister said the opposition was behind the attack. it's not hard to see why mr maduro might feel imbattled. police

and at 4:30 in talking books, gavin esler talks to the chef and author, rick stein, on how british foodmproved dramatically over the last 30 years. good afternoon. the president of venezuela, nicolas maduro, says an attempt has been made on his life using drones carrying explosives. he was addressing a military parade in the capital, caracas, during a live television broadcast when the alleged attack occurred. mr maduro escaped without injury, but officials say seven soldiers were hurt. here's matt cole. addressing crowds with a speech on the economy, with his wife alongside, nicolas maduro was unexpectedly interrupted. all eyes looked up, seeking out the source of the two loud bangs. set out in precision formation, the national guard had been listening to their leader. but look to the right of the screen. after the bangs, a handful break ranks, followed by a stampede for cover. it's claimed two drones exploding above were the source of the panic. later, and clearly furious, president maduro spoke about what he termed an attempted assassination. translation: i have no doubt that everyth

and at 2:30pm in talking books, gavin esler talks to chef and author rick stein on how british food hasamatically over the last 30 years. two—thirds of plastic food containers which householders put in their recycling bins — actually end up being buried or burned — because they can't be recycled. the mixture of plastics used in many yoghurt pots, ready meal trays and other containers, limits the ability of councils to recycle them. that's according to the local government association of england and wales. it's calling for a ban on low—grade plastic. ministers say recycling rates are rising, but acknowledge there's "much more to do". jayne mccubbin reports. the costs to the planet are well—documented, but local authorities are warning that, despite their best efforts to recycle more plastic, they are being let down by manufacturers. while almost all local authorities collect plastic bottles for recycling, around a quarter refuse to collect otherfood packaging because of the way it's manufactured. the rest ends up here in landfill. it seems totally unfair that the burden of un—recyclable

and at 8.30 in talking books, gavin esler talks to chef and author rick stein on how british food hasdramatically over the last 30 years. detectives searching for the midwife samantha eastwood, who's been missing for more than a week, have found a body near caverswall, in staffordshire. a 32—year—old man arrested on sunday on suspicion of kidnap has been rearrested on suspicion of murder. 0ur correspondent sarah corker is in caverswall — and has this report. samantha eastwood was described by her family as warm, generous and a selfless midwife. these cctv images of the 28—year—old leaving the royal stoke hospital after a night shift last friday were the last time she was seen alive. after an extensive search of woodland and fields around the village of caverswall in rural staffordshire, a body was discovered by police at midday. those living nearby said there had been a heavy police presence here for days. just a lot of police activity, a lot of people about, and a police helicopter in the field hovering around, you know, which is normally a quiet lane. as we came back into the farm t