Rick Stein, 77, makes stance clear on retirement plans as he delivers new health update after heart operation

Despite the impressive feat, Stein has no plans to hang up his apron just yet and shared why he believes keeping busy is so important.

Sharing a story recently relayed to him by broadcaster Gyles Brandreth when he appeared on his podcast, Stein explained: "Gyles’s headmaster told him, 'A busy person is a happy person,' which I feel is the case."

He continued: "As long as you keep busy, you keep active, you keep the brain working."

Stein even has plans to expand his restaurant business as he hopes to open the company's first central London branch.

"We’re not imminently opening, but we are looking. Seriously looking," he shared.

Speaking to Radio Times, he added that he feels "no need to retire", adding: "I tend to try and keep away from any meaningful decisions. I'm now just really involved in quality control and new recipes."

Despite stepping back from the main duties of the restaurants though, Stein is by no means slowing down altogether.

He also detailed how he likes to stay young and energised, telling the publication: "I swim virtually every day and I walk quite a lot."

Stein's latest update comes two years after undergoing a heart operation to replace an aortic valve.

He had suffered years of breathlessness, and according to doctors, he would have died without the procedure.

Speaking to The Mirror at the time, he explained: "To be honest, having had the operation and recovered, the improvement in my health has left me tremendously optimistic.

"Even though at my age and with the normal realities of life I'm not going to last that much longer...

"I think as long as you've got your health and you're optimistic generally and enjoying your life, you don't tend to ponder too much about how little life you've got left."

The cook's latest book, Rick Stein's Food Stories, includes more than 100 recipes.

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A TV series based on and named after the book also began airing last month on BBC Two.

The show celebrates modern British food, with Stein sampling the UK's best culinary offerings as well as meeting the people rustling up the dishes.

In his synopsis, Stein explained: "The series is about my travels around Britain and Northern Ireland trying to get a handle on what is British cuisine today.

"Behind every dish, there's a story, big or small. From fish and chips to pad Thai noodles, from chicken tikka masala to square sausages in a bun for breakfast on the streets of Glasgow."