Sue had been going to the area since she was a teenager and had watched it change from a sleepy, authentic backwater to an amazingly cool and trendy weekend destination, attracting the famous, the wealthy, the royals, the surfing set and hordes of tourists. Cornwall now has great festivals, lovely hotels, smart art galleries and terrific restaurants. It was still a relatively quiet place when we started visiting as a couple.

But even then, there was one place that was so popular it was always difficult to get in – the one that epitomises the county’s current ultra-fashionable status, Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. You had to book a table months ahead, and we weren’t sufficiently organised to do that and so never ate there. We got to the front door once, to be told that we could come back some time in the distant future, which we never did. We have now, however, had dinner at a Rick Stein seafood restaurant, though we had to go to Australia to do it.

Rick Stein at Bannisters is at Mollymook, a seaside town that’s a three-and-half-hour drive south of Sydney. Annoyingly, though we were able to book for dinner, Stein seems to be as effective at attracting customers in Australia as he is back in Padstow. The hotel that houses the restaurant, Bannisters by the Sea, was full the day we arrived en route from Melbourne to Sydney, but we managed to get a room at a sister property along the road, Bannisters Pavilion. Both are beautifully presented and the look throughout is tasteful and sophisticated, though the seaside property can’t quite disguise the fact that its previous incarnation was a 1970s motel.

We turned up for dinner and were shown outdoors, where we had a cocktail as we studied the menu and wine list and looked out to sea across the gardens and an infinity pool and sundeck. The emphasis is on locally sourced seafood, though there is a small vegetarian selection. There are traditional dishes such as fish pie and fruits de mer, plus some Asian touches like the tempura zucchini flowers Sue chose as a starter.

When we were taken back inside to our table, the restaurant was packed. The food was excellent – it all looked great and tasted superb, and the whole experience was memorable and well worth the wait from all those years ago in Padstow. In the meantime, of course, Stein has become a famous TV chef, and an extensive range of his books-of-the-series was on sale at the restaurant. Other than that there was no sign of him, though he does sometimes visit for special events.

The next day we had breakfast at our hotel on a terrace that overlooks the pool, part of which protrudes out over the street below. Then we took a walk along the town’s sweeping beach and breathed in some sea air before getting back on the road.

Verdict: Excellent restaurant; ingredients, cooking, service and decor all at the levels you’d expect from a place named after a celebrity chef. Mollymook is a relaxing town to stop off at if you’re driving the coast road, or to visit from Sydney for a weekend break.

Sue’s view: I was lucky to grow up being fed by a mum who was a great cook, so never took to all the celebrity chef nonsense. First, why were they nearly always men, apart from Saint Delia and Goddess Nigella, of course? Second, why would anyone go near a restaurant run by a chef who shouts at his customers? Having said that, I quite like Rick Stein. His attitude is to learn, rather than lecture, and he’s a great success, but he doesn’t seem shouty.

I’ve still never eaten at his Padstow place, but the day after Colin and I went to Bannisters I chatted with an elderly man sitting by Mollymook beach. He’d retired to the town and, just like the locals in Padstow, had never eaten at Rick Stein’s. “You can’t get a table, and I probably can’t afford it,” he said.

It’s always difficult when this happens, when something descends on an ordinary town and puts everything out of kilter. I saw it happen in Padstow and at Mollymook I’d been one of the out-of-towners dining at the posh restaurant while passing through. I’d thoroughly enjoyed it – not least because this was Australia so there was a relaxed vibe and none of the ridiculous snobbery that often accompanies these places. But I don’t wait months for a table, I won’t be shouted at, and I’m just as happy with beans on toast if it’s been cooked with care.