Chef Curtis Stone Says Being a Father to His 2 Sons Is ‘Humbling’: It ‘Makes You Live a Better Life’

Even though Curtis Stone is busy in the kitchen or at his restaurant, he always finds time to hang out with his two sons — Hudson, 8, and Emerson, 5 — and cherishes precious moments with them. “It makes you live a better life, for sure,” the 44-year-old chef told Closer Weekly exclusively about fatherhood while promoting Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray in New York City on January 16. “It makes you pretty selfless. That’s your most important job — being a dad, not being a chef or this or that. It’s humbling for sure.”

The Australia native — who is married to Lindsay Price — isn’t afraid to get dirty with his kiddos when they are stirring up some concoctions and ~dished~ about “a couple of recipes” they invented. “I sort of gave them the base, and I was like, ‘Put your stuff in,’” he said. “They’ve got a cookie that they take real pride in. They’ve both done pizza, one has done a meatloaf, which is good. It’s interesting — a lot going on.”

The dad of two makes sure to teach his boys where their food comes from, first and foremost. “As soon as they get that, they are not scared of it. Like, if they are out in the garden pulling stuff out, that is what a squash is. They look at another plant like, ‘What’s that? I want to eat that,’” he admitted.

As much as Curtis loves sharing his passion for food with others, he just wants his sons to “love food” at the end of the day. “I want them to love to cook, and I want them to get pleasure out of food, for sure,” he added. “It’s hard having a family and being a good chef. You’ve got to be in your restaurant and also be home and be a dad. It’s a challenge. I wouldn’t be mad if they weren’t chefs.”

Despite the late nights, Curtis makes sure to squeeze in some quality time with his wife. “We sneak away from our kids once in a while,” he confessed. “Her parents are close and good, active grandparents, and our kids love spending time with them. We laugh a lot, and we have a lot of fun. She makes me laugh out loud a lot, so maybe I am just lucky that I got a funny one.”

The Top Chef Masters alum even relies on the actress’ opinion when it comes to what he serves his customers. “I cook for her. If I am developing for the restaurant, she will be my guinea pig,” he said. “So, I will bring her in with a friend, and they will sit at the bar, and I will just cook for them.”

Curtis also explained why Dawn is the perfect product to use when things get messy in the kitchen. “It works really well,” he said. “As much as we probably don’t love doing the dishes and don’t love the clean-up, it’s super necessary and important if there is an easier way to do that. In a way, it almost sort of means you’re not in the suds as much because you are literally wiping and rinsing, so yeah, we love it.”

Sounds like Curtis’ household is the place to be!