Curtis Stone biography

Synopsis

Early Years

Born November 4, 1975, in Melbourne, Australia, renowned chef, best-selling author, TV personality and entrepreneur Curtis Stone first learned to cook as a child under the guidance of his mother and grandmother.

"My mom’s mom, who we called 'Granny,' was a great cook. She taught me to make my first-ever recipe: Yorkshire Fudge," Stone told BravoTV.com.

Restaurant Chef

Stone attended Victoria University in Melbourne before leaving to pursue a career in food. He started out cooking at The Savoy Hotel's 5-star restaurant in Melbourne before travelling through Europe with his best friend. At 21, after three months on the road, Stone arrived in London with no money and no job.

Looking to gain experience in the kitchen, Stone volunteered to work for free at The Grill Room at Café Royal with chef Marco Pierre White. "I decided I was going to work for legendary chef Marco Pierre White—no matter what it took," Stone said. Eventually, he was hired and remained on staff for two years.

"I was cooking this super high-end food, but sleeping on a mate’s sofa, too broke to get my own flat. Marco was racking up Michelin stars but also throwing plates at the line on a nightly basis," Stone recalled.

Stone graduated to sous-chef at the Mirabelle, where he worked for two years before moving on to become head chef at White's flagship restaurant, Quo Vadis.

Television Career

After trying his hand at TV on various British series, in 2003 Stone teamed up with fellow chef Ben O'Donoghue to star in Surfing the Menu, an Australian TV show in which the duo traveled the Australian coastline and cooked locally grown food.

"Surfing the Menu was the best job in the world," Stone told BravoTV.com. "My mate and fellow chef Ben O’Donoghue and I traveled around Australia, exploring amazing places, meeting fantastic people, cooking, and surfing."

Three years later, Stone made his U.S. television debut with his own show, Take Home Chef, on Discovery Network's TLC. It was so successful that Stone signed an exclusive deal with NBC. As NBC's resident chef, Stone has appeared on The Biggest Loser, contributes to The Today Show and was co-host of America’s Next Great Restaurant. He has also competed on The Celebrity Apprentice.

Stone took over as co-host of Bravo’s reality show Top Chef Masters after its third season. He also co-hosts Around the World in 80 Plates, a culinary adventure show that airs on Bravo, with Cat Cora.

In 2006, People Magazine named Stone one of the sexiest men alive.

In 2008, Stone launched Kitchen Solutions, a line of cooking products and baking pans, which is sold globally.

Stone has published four books, including Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood, published in 2009. He favors simple flavors and tries to use locally grown, organic ingredients whenever possible.