“Don’t just cook to live – live to cook.”

Curtis Stone is a chef, author and TV personality. His philosophy is to cook as Mother Nature intended—buy local, seasonal and organic ingredients, keep recipes simple and allow the food to speak for itself.

Returning as host of Top Chef Masters for the fourth season, Curtis also will headline Bravo TV’s biggest show to date – a bold new culinary-adventure series Around the World in 80 Plates. The show follows 12 up-and-coming chefs racing across 10 countries in 44 days. Ultimately they will face-off in a kitchen takeover where they will not just recreate, but reinvent, the menus for Curtis and fellow world-renowned chefs.

It’s a world Curtis already knows well. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Curtis’s passion for food was inspired as a boy by his mother’s baking and his grandmother’s famous fudge. Mid-way through business school he left to don his first apron at the Savoy Hotel in Melbourne and later honed his skills in London under legendary three-star Michelin genius Marco Pierre White at Café Royal, Mirabelle and the revered Quo Vadis.

Curtis appeared in a number of cooking programs in the UK before hosting three seasons of Surfing the Menu in Australia—an instant international hit which caught the eye of US producers. This led to his own US series Take Home Chef on TLC in 2006, which has since been enjoyed in more than 70 countries.

A regular headliner at global food shows, Curtis was the first chef to debut his own product line Kitchen Solutions at prestigious US retailer Williams-Sonoma. Enthusiasts turn to these sleek, eco-driven products daily “for the total cooking experience,” says Curtis, “bringing confidence in the kitchen and happiness to the table.” Kitchen Solutions also is available at Curtis Stone Shop, Chefs Catalog, Dillard’s, HSN, Belk, plus other fine gourmet specialty retailers including The Rolling Pin and A Southern Season.

A gregarious host and entertaining guest, Curtis is a familiar face on dozens of shows including The Today Show, Ellen, Conan,Oprah, The Talk, The Biggest Loser and Celebrity Apprentice. A regular columnist for magazines worldwide, his fourth book,Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone, is packed with easy-to-make recipes for every meal of the day.

Inspiring home cooks is Curtis’ vision as he works selectively with grocery stores to improve fresh produce offerings, devise recipe cards and help families think seasonally, shaping the nation and their shopping habits. As he loves to point out: “when you walk down the street and someone comes up and says, ‘You know what? We never used to cook fish in our house. Since we’ve tried that salmon recipe we have it once a week.’ The feeling that gives you is worth a million other things.”

Curtis lives in Los Angeles with partner Lindsay Price and their son Hudson, born in November 2011.

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