June 2009

Cooking Up a Storm

With another top-rating television show, a kitchenware company and a third cookbook out in June, we find out if there’s anything Curtis Stone is still wanting for

Cooking Up a Storm

WORDS JAMES SWANWICK
PHOTOGRAPHY JOE SCHMELZER

Curtis Stone may have his own quintessentially beautiful Hollywood Hills home but Australia’s most successful culinary export to the US admits he’s hardly ever there to enjoy it.

Dressed in jeans, sneakers and white fitted T-shirt, Stone is friendly and relaxed as he basks in the glorious morning sunshine.

The 33-year-old Melbourne boy with the scruffy blonde hair has enjoyed such career success, fame and popularity recently that sitting by his pool is a rare, relaxing treat. These days, he finds himself constantly travelling the world, overseeing his rapidly expanding business empire.

Stone, who is now a regular on Oprah and the object of desire for millions of women who watch his Take Home Chef TV series, says his most recent business trip was jam-packed. “I’ve been all over the world. Teaching viewers in one country a few cooking tips on TV before flying to the next to launch my kitchenware company and my new book,” Stone says. “From there I flew half way around the world to host part of the World Gourmet Summit, before landing in Sydney to launch Take Home Chef in Australia, Cairns to host a Tastes of the Tropics cooking event, then flying back to the US for a home show to speak with manufacturers about my kitchenware line.”

With so little time spent in one place, it’s no wonder that one of Australia’s most eligible bachelors doesn’t have a woman in his life. “I’ve been so busy, I haven’t really done a lot of dating recently,” Stone laughs. “But I wouldn’t mind having a girlfriend — I just need to find the time.”

We caught up with Stone in his home, perched 200m above Sunset Boulevard. “It reminds me of Sydney’s north shore. You could be in the country when you sit out here on a Saturday afternoon and there’s no traffic around. You feel pretty relaxed.”

His celebrity life today is a long way since achieving fame in Australia with cooking show Surfing the Menu, where he and fellow host Ben ‘Bender’ O’Donoghue travelled and surfed around Australian coastal towns, cooking with the best local and seasonal produce, from fresh truffles dug up in the Yarra Valley to lobsters scooped straight from the oceans off Perth.

“If I could do another season of Surfing the Menu, I would in a heartbeat,” he says. “Bender is a good mate of mine. We still speak a lot.”

Stone’s latest project is his third cookbook, relaxed cooking with curtis stone: recipes to put you in my favorite mood — scheduled for release in Australia on 1 June. It’s the result of Stone studying people’s cooking habits in their own homes.

“My life has always been about great restaurants and trying to achieve perfection,” Stone says. “But then I saw people trying to put a decent meal on the table for their family and how little confidence they had in their kitchen.”

Choosing to focus on simple, easy recipes, Stone’s book brings a bit of Australia’s laid-back attitude to the table. “I thought relaxed was the best way to go,” he says. “Aussies are the most relaxed people in the world — it just comes to us quite naturally. I just want people to chill out a little bit and say, ‘Yeah I’m going to cook dinner; it’s not that big a deal.’”

Stone’s book comes off the back of the third season of Take Home Chef which sees him “pick up” women at local supermarkets and offer them his services to help cook dinner. The show’s popularity led him to Oprah and a truly worldwide audience.

Stone cites his earliest culinary inspiration as a best mate’s dad. “They were Italian so he was a bit different anyway, a bit unregulated, unrestricted. I remember going into his little Carlton restaurant and just seeing this crazy atmosphere and all the action... it’s hard to describe, it’s just a lot of energy.”

So Stone began his cooking career at The Savoy Hotel in Melbourne at the age of 18. After gaining his qualifications, he moved to England aged 22 and worked with legendary English chef Marco Pierre White at the Grill Room. “I walked in off the street, asked for a job and started working that afternoon,” Stone says.

From the Grill Room, Curtis proceeded to the Mirabelle as sous chef and, after winning White’s trust and respect, was made head chef at another of White’s flagship restaurants, Quo Vadis. It was during Curtis’ four-year stint at Quo Vadis that he was approached by a publisher to be included in a book about London’s finest chefs, called London on a Plate. The book led to further media interest and ultimately saw Stone offered the chance to host Surfing the Menu.

The experience he gained in some of the world’s busiest kitchens gave Stone a good understanding of what was required in an ordinary kitchen.

This knowledge led to The Curtis Stone Range, including the “Juicy” carving board which drains juices as you cut. “These products come from a love of food,” he says of the appliances, utensils and glassware range which has been a global hit. “We take what is used in a professional kitchen and turn it into something nicer for the domestic kitchen.”

For someone who has had so much success so soon, Stone still has his feet firmly on the ground. “I like going for hikes, or just a quick run. I love being at the beach and still surf quite a lot — I just love being around the water. I love fishing, travel; anything new and different.”

Stone seemingly has it all — the good looks and the lifestyle. All that seems to be missing is the beautiful wife. “I’ve still got to get a girlfriend before I can get married, right?”

Take Home Chef is on Australia’s Discovery Home & Health channel, Monday to Friday ’til 12th June. Take Home Chef Season 2 will air from 6th July.

CURTIS STONE’S FAVOURITE DESTINATIONS

KUALA LUMPUR
“It’s one of my favourite places to eat in the world. I don’t do much else when I’m there. Go down one of the back streets and have a Malaysian curry — they’re out of this world. Madam Kwan’s, located in KLCC Shopping Centre, has a good variety of Chinese, Indian and Malay. The best roast pork can be found at Wong Kee on Lorong Brunei Selatan.”

BANGKOK
“You can do the touristy stuff, like go to the floating market — you jump on a boat and people sell you stuff from their boats. Muay Thai boxing is also great — Lumpini Stadium is where all the big fights are. And again, the best food is on the street. You can also get great local food at Erawan Tea Room.”

SINGAPORE
“Apart from incredible shopping, try an Indian curry — Komala Villas serves you curry on a big banana leaf and you eat it with your hands. They just put a spoonful of rice and then ladle different vegetarian curries on.”

TAIPEI
“It’s a really interesting place and the people are whacky. You can just entertain yourself by walking down the street. There’s a place called Snake Alley where you can take out a live snake, read it a prayer, then turn it into soup.”






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