Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone’s Central Coast Field Trip

Los Angeles–Based Aussie Chef Hits Santa Barbara and Points North as Part of PBS Series

Australian-born Los Angeles chef Curtis Stone takes a camera crew to Stepladder Creamery outside of Paso Robles and to the shores of the Central Coast in an episode of his new PBS television series. | Credit: Stan Lee Photos

The Los Angeles–based, Australian-raised celebrity chef Curtis Stone started swooning for the Central Coast in the spring of 2018 when he scoured the region from Santa Barbara to the Santa Cruz Mountains in search of inspiration for his Beverly Hills restaurant, Maude. He served the results as a nine-course, seafood-heavy menu last summer — part of his quarterly menu that highlight the foods of various wine regions — but that was just the start of his proselytizing about our wide range of produce, drinks, meats, and other provisions.

His next bright spotlight is as the third episode of Field Trip with Curtis Stone, a new PBS series that covers Stone’s travels around the world. The half-hour episode, which hits our PBS SoCal airwaves on October 21, starts with a visit to Stepladder Creamery in San Luis Obispo County, talks uni with Santa Barbara diver Stephanie Mutz, hits on kelp farming in Moss Landing, and culminates in an abalone feast at Ridge Vineyard above San Jose. The six-part series, which started on October 5 and runs until November 11, also showcases Margaret River and the Kimberley in Australia, Lombardy and Umbria in Italy, and Rioja in Spain.

“The process of filming Field Trip was deeply personal for me,” said Stone. “Maude was my first solo restaurant — my little dream restaurant — and our new quarterly regional menus have allowed us to tell the story of these incredible places around the world.”

See more info at aptonline.org/catalog/FIELD-TRIP-WITH-CURTIS-STONE.