Curtis Stone is now a household name in both Australia and the US, thanks to his TV series Surfing the Menu and collaboration with Coles locally, plus a US series, Take Home Chef, and appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show among others. Wie caught up with Curtis to ask about family cooking, his granny's fudge and his new favourite comfort food.



Congratulations on the opening of Maude, your restaurant in LA (pictured above). How do you think your Australian approach will add to the LA dining scene?
Thank you! And what a big few months it has been. My chefs and I are on a steep learning curve. We offer a hyper-seasonal tasting menu that changes monthly. The thing we are learning about the concept is that it's not easy, right? In some ways, you're having to open a new restaurant every month... But we're loving the challenge in our hardcore little kitchen.

The cool thing about the Aussie dining scene is you get to eat high-level, great food cooked by top chefs in super casual and comfortable spaces. And that's what I'm aiming for with Maude. Angeleno magazine recently said Maude's "as comfortable as dinner at your best friend's Beverly Hills cottage." I want my guests to feel like they're having dinner at my house, eating a really delicious meal that they're not gonna forget for a long time to come.


Curtis at his new restaurant with a picture of its namesake, his grandmother Maude.

Your books focus on casual, achievable cooking for family and friends. What role has family cooking played in your own life?
What role hasn't family cooking played in my life is the question here! I was taught the value of food bringing family and friends together from a very young age by my mum and granny, Maude. Maude was actually from the north of England, and she used to make this delicious, really sugary fudge. When I was a five-year-old boy, she taught me the recipe and it's really what sparked my interest in food. She's been gone for seven or eight years now, but I wanted to name the restaurant after her to keep those memories alive.

Now that I have my own little family with my beautiful wife, Lindsay, and two year old boy, Hudson, I'm always thinking about cooking healthy, homemade meals for three. Hud is great because he basically just eats exactly what we eat. There's really nothing that he doesn't love. He loves omelettes — anything with eggs in it. And all sorts of protein. He loves crab. He likes pasta, he likes lentils. He had a nice big steak the other night. You know, he's chompin' away, which is good to see.

In addition to cooking for my family mid-week, I absolutely love cooking for all of my family – mum, dad, nephews, cousins, their +1s, you know name it - for special occasions. Linds and I love to entertain at home. We take a pretty relaxed, chilled out approach and cook big, family style dishes, like a delicious homemade lasagna and salads and let everyone help themselves. Brunch is always a nice way to entertain and because we're blessed with great weather here in LA, we love to eat outside.


What's for Dinner by Curtis Stone

What has juggling your own work commitments across two continents plus your 2-year-old son Hudson taught you about managing home life and meals?
It's taught me enough to write an entire book about it! My latest cookbook What's for Dinner? is full of delicious recipes for a busy life. I find that each day of the week presents its own set of challenges, and the right recipe is one that works at the right time – whether you're looking for healthier fare, living on a budget, or having friends over for dinner on Saturday. I've divided my book into seven simple categories to help readers get a home-cooked meal on the table every night of the week: Motivating Mondays, Time-Saving Tuesdays, One-Pot Wednesdays, Thrifty Thursdays, Five-Ingredient Fridays, Dinner Party Saturdays and Family Supper Sundays.

I think being super organised is key and using pockets of time throughout the entire day to gather all the ingredients and do some prep is really helpful come the end of the day. For example; you can marinate meat overnight, prep your veggies in the morning and then throw it all together later on and multi-task at the stove and workbench. If your dish calls for rice, put that on first and get everything else going in the meantime. And to all new parents… learn the art of one-handed cooking – baby on one arm and wooden spoon in the other! Hahah.

It does take a little effort and planning to get a homemade meal on the table each night but it's always worth the effort. Food simple tastes better – and is better for you – when you cook it yourself.



For someone just beginning to invest in quality kitchen gear, what do you think are the three most important items?
You really only need a couple of great quality tools in your kitchen and you're on your way to whipping up some delicious food. A sturdy cutting board such as my Workbench complete with waste and storage bins is awesome for doing your prep work and mise en place and means you can be super efficient in the kitchen.

Secondly, top quality pots and pans are a must. I have created a 10 piece stainless steel cookware set and each pot and pan is equipped with a big, thick, impact-bonded base, which provides even heat transfer while preventing hot spots from developing. You can whack these guys in the oven too; just remember they'll be super hot when you pull them out!

Thirdly, I can't go past my Go with the Flow Oil Can – it's a cook's best friend and gives you the perfect pour every time. There is nothing more important than pouring the right amount of oil into a hot pan, a dressing or even over your favourite salad. My can features an elongated spout to help control the pour all the while looking pretty sexy on any dining table or kitchen bench. I like to have good looking tools in my kitchen along with a tidy and organised space as it just makes you want to spend more time in there.



Your partnership with Coles led to your association with Second Bite and now Feeding America, which both focus on getting surplus food to those in need. What can we all do to combat waste? 
There are plenty of simple ways to eliminate waste within the home kitchen starting with being creative with leftovers. Using leftovers saves you time, money and prevents you from wasting precious food – it's a win, win and another win! Just think: roasted vegetables can become an amazing soup, vegetable gratins transform effortlessly into a frittata and pot roast makes the most delicious open-faced sandwiches.



Each month at Maude, we thread one seasonal ingredient through each dish from first bites right through to petit fours - this month it's peas and in May, rhubarb steps up to the plate. This concept really encourages my chefs and I to think: how can I use its leaves, flowers, oil, skin, flesh, seed, stalk, you know, every part of it and make it taste delicious. I think this is a great mentality to take to the home too e.g. you may like a squeeze of lemon in your tea but just think; you can use its zest for a salad that night or include it in a citrus cake. It's fun to think outside the box and let seasonal ingredients inspire your next dish.



Quick fire questions:

Pet hate: Chemicals in food.

Comfort dish: Tacos! I love my late-night trips to a hole in the wall taco stand in East L.A. I eat them really, really hot — the hotter, the better. Tacos have become my go-to comfort food since moving to the States and I guess that's why I put two different versions of them in my cookbook "What's for Dinner?"

Favourite splurge: White truffles - they totally move you. I have an instinctive attraction to them. From the very first time I smelled them, I was like, "Oh my god, what do we have here?" I was working in one of Marco Pierre White's restaurants and I can remember the truffle man coming in, opening the box, and that was it. Game over. I was completely drawn in.

Sweet or savoury: I'm a greedy little monster…I love both! But if I were really forced to pick one, it'd have to be savoury.

Failsafe fallback dish: A bowl of spaghetti with some fresh crab, lemon, olive oil, parsley and chilli. That is one of my staples and crab is one of my very favourite ingredients to cook and eat. Whenever I have the time, I always roll out fresh, homemade pasta. I will never eat enough of it.

Follow Curtis on Facebook or on Instagram @curtisstone.