CELEBRITY chef Rick Stein popped up in York to sign copies of his latest book - but his canine companion Chalky was nowhere to be seen.
The celebrated food writer and restaurateur spent an hour in Waterstone's book store in York, signing his new book' French Odyssey, which accompanies the TV series charting his gastronomic journey through Southern France.
A spokeswoman for the shop said hundreds of customers had turned up to meet the well-known chef and to have their copies of his book signed.
"He was a very, very nice man," she said.
"I think customers were a bit disappointed that he didn't bring his dog with him."
Chalky, Rick's Jack Russell terrier, has become just as famous as the chef himself, but did not make an appearance in the latest TV series because he was too elderly to qualify for a pet passport to allow him to travel to France.
Updated: 10:54 Thursday, September 29, 2005
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