The TV presenter was given the honour for services to the economy through his work in the food and drink industry, which stretches back over 40 years.

Stein (left), along with his wife Jill, opened his first restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall in 1975 and has since grown his business to 13 food and drink outlets, four shops, one pub and a cookery school.

He has had 36 recipe books published, the majority of which are focused on seafood, while his many TV appearances include the recently-aired Rick Stein's Road to Mexico.

Stein, who already held an OBE which he received in the 2003 New Years Honours, told the BBC: "I am so proud to receive a CBE... I think that the hospitality industry, that I so much enjoy working in, is a force for good not only in the UK but everywhere.

"To be able to travel the world as an Englishman, fascinated by the food and culture wherever I go and bringing it back home is a dream job, but also reinforces the importance of everyone sitting down and enjoying good food together."

Other hospitality figures who made the New Years Honours 2018 list included Patrick Crerar, chief executive of Crerar Hotels, who made a CBE for services to the hospitality industry in Scotland and charity work.

Ellen Wiles, chef at Oak Field School in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, was named as a recipient of the Medallist of the Order of the British Empire, for services to children with special dietary requirements.