Celebrity chef and cookbook author Curtis Stone talks about the women in his life and how fame changes the dating game.
"I grew up with my mum, Lozza [Lorraine], who was a single mum, and my older brother, Luke. I did, and still do, get on well with my dad, William, and he took a major interest in my sport and knew everything that was going on in my life, so I never felt like he was distant, even though we didn't live in the same house. But it was a different dynamic growing up with Mum running the house, having a woman's influence on you. You learn to keep the toilet seat down.
I am very close to my mum. She was a florist, a creative person, and she was very busy, dropping us off at school, going to work at the shop, then picking us up, making us dinner. She was pretty strict, actually, when we were kids: strict on what we ate and that sort of stuff. She's a pretty straightforward person and realistic, and we've never had any secrets from each other. She's also got a great sense of humour and we've always had a lot of fun together.
Mum was a terrible cook and would overcook everything. She'd put the potatoes and green beans in the same pot and steam the hell out of it. But she was a good baker and I can vividly remember waiting around for her to finish so I could lick the spoon and go to work on the bowl.
My dad's mum, who was from Yorkshire, taught me a lot about cooking. She used to make great sugary fudge and good roasts and crispy potatoes. She was a generous old darling and would spoil us rotten. My other granny, Mum's mum, was also an angel. She and Granddad used to grow their own vegies and she'd be making cumquat marmalade out of fruit picked from the garden. They gave me a passion for food.
I always wanted to cook, but during high school I thought there were probably ways of making more money than standing in a kitchen all day. So I thought more about the business world. But just as I finished year 12 I got cold feet. I could have studied law but at the last minute I applied for an apprenticeship and got one [at Melbourne's Savoy Hotel]. I thought, "Screw it: I'm going to go and cook." Mum was really supportive.
Now, so many years later, things are going great guns. One of the things I'm doing in America - I live mostly in LA - is a show called Take Home Chef, in which I ask someone in a supermarket if they'd like me to go home with them to cook a meal. The women are so predictable. The first thing every woman says is, "You can only come into my house if I can get five minutes to clean up my kitchen." If it is a guy, the first thing he says is, "I'm not sure my wife would allow me to take you into the kitchen."
I've always had a healthy appreciation for the opposite sex and I was probably younger than I should have been when I first noticed girls. I went to a single-sex school, Essendon Grammar, up until year 11 when we were combined with the seniors from nearby Penleigh Ladies' College. We weren't allowed near girls and Mum used to tell us to keep our tongues in our mouths and our dicks in our pants! I did manage a couple of romances. I was a naughty kid for a while but, funnily enough, I settled down by the time they put us together with the girls. But by this stage you've become unused to socialising with them, and you're not sure how to behave around them.
I can remember the first time I was in love. It was in Melbourne, before I went to the UK to work at Marco Pierre White's Grill Room. I'm a Scorpio and we don't think with our heads. We just go for it, no over-analysing. I think it's the best way. Dive in. So I fell head over heels and it was almost like nothing else mattered. I saw her for about four years. It was a heartbreaking moment when it came to an end.
My [growing profile] has definitely brought a different dynamic to meeting women. You wonder a little about people's intentions. But it's been fine. I'm not complaining. I'm busy, working loads, travelling a lot. So it's been a good time to be single. If I'm meant to find a woman and have babies, I will; if not, then I won't. I'm not in any rush. I don't know if I have a type but the women I like have similar traits; a good sense of humour, don't take themselves too seriously and enjoy things like travel, booze and food.
No matter what you think you're looking for, it's only because you think that thing will bring you happiness. In my opinion, the fun thing is that it's always the simple stuff that will bring you happiness. Its not a big boat or fancy anything. It's a feeling, a smell, a taste, really simple core human needs."
Things I love in particular about this interview:
* His relationship with his mama! Bless. (And he definitely doesn't sound like a Mummy's Boy - the bane of our generation)
* He mentions that he's a Scorpio without making out like your star sign isn't important.
* He was almost a lawyer, but then chickened out.
* He likes women who like travel, booze and food. [I think we all read that and thought 'well, duh, Curtis - that is me'.
* He loves to cook. [I've met very few men who love to cook - and who are good at it].
* He was naughty with the ladies.
The thing I don't get is why women predictably say something about needing to clean up their kitchen before he comes over. Erm... What about changing their underwear just in case? Or having some time to arrange yourself sexily on the counter? Bugger cleaning up! Or saying something cougar-ish like "once you visit you're never going to want to leave..." in a breathless, sexy, over the top kind of way. (Scratch that - he's probably had that one a few times).
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