Curtis Duffy (chef and restaurateur)

Episode overview

Curtis Duffy (Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef, Ever) is a chef, restauranteur, and author. Curtis joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being dropped off at 6 months old on his 15 year-old stepmom's doorstep, building a safe space in his closet at home and in home economics at school, and starting work in kitchens at 14. Curtis and Dax talk about the violent and tragic event that defined his life at 19, the eye opening moment he was exposed to through learning culinary practice, and how cooking gave him the structural pillars he needed as a young man. Curtis explains how a bad business deal lost him his three-Michelin Star restaurant, how the drive to continuously get better each day in some way keeps him going, and why his new goal is expanding his business so he can create opportunities for younger chefs.

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Short transcript highlights

These brief excerpts are navigation aids selected from different points in the transcript.

1. 0:00Welcome, welcome, welcome to armchair expert experts on expert. I'm Dan Shepard. I'm joined by Monica Padman.
2. 1:01:28hun. It doesn't matter how the bed's [ __ ] made. Just throw the sheet up." No, I'm not that. I mean, my kitchen,
3. 2:04:39moved by his story. Me too. All right. Love you. Love you. Love you.