Rick Stein's Germany made for an engaging insight into both Stein and Germany (Picture: Denhams)
Rick Stein’s Germany made for an engaging insight into both Stein and Germany (Picture: Denhams)

Smoked eel or raw herring for your hangover, anyone?

Given that the original idea was to overturn clichéd British views of German nosh, Rick Stein’s German Bite (BBC2) opened up with a bit of a stomach-churner.

Thanks, Rick, but I’ll pass and stick with the traditional British post-bender kebab. Or chips with curry sauce, whatever comes to hand.

Perhaps because he realised he was up against it when it came to giving German food a makeover –big lumps of meat slathered in cabbage popped up at regular intervals – the show quickly morphed from a food odyssey to one with more personal bite.

Accompanied by son Jack, Stein traced his roots back to a Düsseldorf beer dynasty. It was a bequest from the German side of Stein’s family tree that set him on the path to British foodie royalty.

So it’s no surprise that Stein turned out to be quite the Deutschophile, motoring about to Kraftwerk classic Autobahn and waxing lyrical on the German ability to drink and eat the day away in the sunshine without wanting to throw up or get into a scrap.

He also uncovered a gem in Steffen Henssler, described as ‘Germany’s answer to Jamie Oliver’, who turned out to be less irritating than the original. Trading cultural clichés about what Britons suspect about Germans and vice versa, Rick threw in: ‘And the Germans nicking the loungers!’ ‘But that’s true!’ admitted Steffen. ‘This is the problem. It’s true.’

In fact, what came across most was the warmth of those he met. There was a fascinating visit to the submarine used in seminal movie Das Boot, a claustrophobic study of the ‘absolute futility of war’ – Stein turned out to be a bit of a movie critic to boot.

It all made for an engaging insight into both Stein and Germany, a country more like us than we care to admit. Just don’t mention the frankfurters.