Chatting with Curtis Stone About 'Top Chef Masters' and Reality TV

by Nichol Nelson, Posted Jan 24th 2011 @ 4:00PM

Curtis Stone Photo: Julie Toy

With his new gig as host of "Top Chef Masters," chef (and KitchenDaily expert) Curtis Stone comes ever closer to becoming the ringmaster of America's reality-show circus. Last spring, he made it to the tenth week of Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice," and this fall he's been a regular presence on "The Biggest Loser." His new project, "America's Next Great Restaurant," pairs him up with Bobby Flay and a panel of restaurant experts to find an idea worthy of a three-city restaurant chain. We caught up with Curtis this weekend as he was prepping dinner with Wolfgang Puck for the 8th Annual G'DAY USA Celebrity Gala, in Los Angeles.

Slashfood: It's been a busy year for you, what with the 'Apprentice' and working on 'The Biggest Loser.'
Curtis Stone: 'The Apprentice' was bizarre. I was sitting there before the first day and Cyndi [Lauper] was sort of singing to herself and I was thinking, 'What am I doing here with all of these freaks?' But you know what? I made a lot of good friends from it. They all turned out to be really cool. When I first met Bret [Michaels] I thought, 'How are we going to get along? You're a weirdo.' But he's a nice bloke! He's a strange cat, you know, but a cool dude. Sharon Osborne and I ended up becoming really good friends. Cyndi is a sweet woman -- crazy, out there, talks to herself, but kind and generous.

SF: You're taking over the role of host for the new season of Bravo's 'Top Chef Masters.' Why do you think they decided to replace Kelly Choi?
CS: Look, I think Kelly is a real sweetheart, and she's a real foodie. She loves food – I know her; she's a friend of mine. But yeah, I think it's good to have a chef on there who can empathize with the other chefs during the competitions. I'll be on the judges panel, but I'm not going to cast advice, because I don't want to judge my peers. We start filming next week, and I can't wait. 'Top Chef Masters' is a whole different ball game. 'Top Chef' is a great show, but with 'Masters,' these guys are seriously established chefs on the restaurant scene with Michelin stars, James Beard awards and all that stuff.

SF: Are you glad you're hosting instead of competing?
CS: I've just been going through all of the challenges and I'm so glad that I'm not going to have to do them myself -- they're tough challenges. But these guys are brilliant chefs. And as much as it's difficult -- you'll see them stand there shaking their head because they're angry at the challenge -- but they'll still go make great food. I think my role is to sort of empathize with the chefs since I appreciate the technical skill. Food writers just can't. I mean, the interesting thing about a chef's job is that you're getting judged by someone who knows less than you. You have someone come in and comment on your food, but they can't cook it.

SF: What does 2011 have in store?
CS: It's been a bloody crazy year. And this year's the same. I'm doing 'America's Next Great Restaurant,' which airs on March 6th. I was on a panel with Bobby Flay, Steve Ells [founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle], and Lorena Garcia [an executive chef and restaurateur] trying to pick a winner. So that was fun, we were literally running around trying to find the person who has America's greatest restaurant idea. Some of the concepts we were amazing.

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Filed Under: Television/Film, Celebrities, Chefs, Interviews
Tags: celebrity apprentice, curtis stone, The Biggest Loser, top chef masters

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-24-2011 @8:05PM Blake said... Curtis Stone is such a fabulous add to TC Masters. Total eye candy. And Bravo just opened casting calls for Top Chef 9 & Top Chef Just Desserts 2: http://foodiegossip.blogspot.com/2011/01/bravo-tvs-top-chef-now-casting-top-chef.html
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1-25-2011 @1:41PM cathy said... Stone is so right. So many of these judges profess to know food but most of them couldn't even come close to making what they are eating and judging. http://newsy1.wordpress.com
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