Curtis Stone, The Learning Channel’s weeknight “Take Home Chef,” was about 9 when he decided to become a chef. Within a year, he had created his first recipe, a caramel slide.
“It’s like a bar or a cookie; you make it in a big slab and cut it up,” he says. “It has a cheesecake base. I can’t even remember how I did it, but I ate the entire slab.”
He still eats wonderful creations and manages to stay thin. And despite spending considerable time in Los Angeles this year, Stone is no gym rat. “I have better things to do with my time except walk on a treadmill,” he says. “I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.”
Undoubtedly he does, as he promotes seasonal produce and keeping meals simple. The chef who ambushes harried shoppers at the market and offers to come to their homes and cook a luscious meal, however, also knows how to have a good time.
Stone has such a good time that after his last vacation, he was still recovering midday, relaxing with a buddy at a Miami hotel. His
hours of baking in the sun were coming to a close as he was due back at work.
“If this show is a success, I will be out and about in the States for a while, doing related things,” Stone says. “Maybe I’ll bring out a product range, equipment, a lot of things that chefs use. If you think about it creatively, you can bring the professional equipment to people’s homes. There’s a range of stuff that works and makes cooking easier for the home chef.”
Although it is still easier to have a chef come to your home and create a meal.
Reared: Melbourne, Australia.
Home now: “Wherever I lay my hat. I have a flat in London.”
Signature dishes: “What I really believe in with food is nice, ripe seasonal produce. It can be really simple, a bowl of mozzarella, beautifully produced, torn up and tossed with ripe tomato, served with good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar.”
Last meal: “A cobb sandwich by the pool with fries and ketchup.”
Should learn to cook: “A lot of Japanese stuff.”
