THE Rick Stein Group, which has a restaurant in Sandbanks, has been listed among the Sunday Times’ 100 best companies to work for.

This accolade sees the company appearing at number 55, as revealed at The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies awards ceremony held in London.

Ian Fitzgerald, managing director at the Rick Stein Group, added: “We are so lucky to have such an incredible team of people; passionate, loyal, caring and very focused on putting smiles on our guests’ faces. The team spirit is amazing. As a business, we simply do our best to recognise what a great asset we have. We listen; we encourage ideas and feedback; we invest in each other’s development, and we have fun together.”

Rick Stein added: “I still marvel at how the business has grown so that after 45 years we’ve now got 11 restaurants, four shops, 40 bedrooms, a pub and a seafood cookery school, mainly in Padstow but also further afield, including of course our restaurant in Sandbanks. I would say the real reason for our success is that we love what we are doing. It’s fun. I wouldn’t say that I’ve loved every minute of it, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

The Best Companies survey is the largest in the UK, surveying both employees and management to determine a true measure of workplace engagement.