CLICK HERE: Curtis Stone Full Biography
Curtis Stone is a trained chef, cookbook author and host of a reality cooking show on the Discovery Networks. He’s a member of an elite group of talented young guys who have parlayed their cooking skills - not to mention good looks and engaging personalities - into celebrity careers. After establishing his star power with TV audiences in the United Kingdom and Australia, where he was born and raised, the former London restaurant chef is winning American fans. Stone’s been a guest on The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, Martha Stewart, The Fox Morning Show, and The Ellen Degeneres Show. People magazine included him on a list of the sexiest men alive. We chatted with him about how he went from cooking in a Melbourne hotel kitchen to filming episodes of Take Home Chef in Los Angeles for TLC (TLC (The Learning Channel).
Fabulous Food Show: How did you end up in London, working for the infamous Marco Pierre White at Café Royal, one of the city’s most talked-about restaurants?
Curtis Stone: I’d finished up my apprenticeship at home and went traveling through Europe with a mate for three months. By the time I arrived in London, I was out of money and needed a job. I went to the Café Royal because White’s cookbook was one of the first I’d ever read. He’d just sacked someone that morning so I started in the afternoon.
FFS: Are the stories about White’s terrible temper true?
CS: He’s the original psycho and very very tough on his employees. But I got an incredible education from him. He put me in charge of Quo Vadis, another of his places, when I was only 26. That’s how I ended up being in a book about London’s best chefs. An agent saw that, sought me out for a bit on the BBC, and that led to everything else. It’s amazing really.
FFS: You went quickly from at the stove to on the set and in front of the cameras. How does it feel?
CS: I never considered myself to be a media chap, but here I am. There are things I miss about working in a professional kitchen but a lot reasons I’m happy to be out of it.
FFS: You’ve added a new line to your resume by designing a line of kitchen utensils. Tell us about what you’re doing and why.
CS: Cooking is great fun and I’ve got some ideas about how to make it easier for people. I explain what I’m thinking, draw pathetic little pictures, and then a team of experts turn it into real products. We’ve got a carving board made so all the juice runs into an attached container and there’s no mess to clean up, and a chef’s style water filled spoon rest that doesn’t get all crusty and nasty. It looks like a high-heeled shoe. Everything is a simple solution to common problems.
FFS: Are your Kitchen Solution products available in the United States?
CS: William Sonoma will have them by the end of 2008 and you can find them on my website, www.curtisstone.com
FFS: Any advice for home cooks?
CS: Invest time in shopping and bring home high quality ingredients including fresh herbs and ripe produce in season. Everything already tastes good so it doesn’t take much work to turn it into a terrific meal. The 20 minutes it takes to make dinner just may be the best 20 minutes of your day.