Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Curtis Stone on Being Taken Seriously as a Chef & Knowing When to Walk Away

Episode Date: June 30, 2026

Celebrity chef Curtis Stone joins the show. Over slow-cooked Indonesian beef and coconut squash curry, Curtis reveals that even chefs have picky eaters as children, how TV affected perception of him as a ‘real’ chef, and we hear what restaurants do to protect themselves against unruly guests (spoiler: they take notes). Plus, he shares why he hires formerly unhoused and incarcerated people—and how it's transformed the culture of his LA restaurants. This episode was recorded at Cobi’s in Santa Monica, CA.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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You know him from Top Chef Masters in Crime Scene Kitchen. He also happens to have some of my favorite restaurants here in LA. It's celebrity chef, very tall, very Australian, very handsome, Curtis Stone. Just recently, they got into a big fight at the table. She threw a drink on her spouse. She demanded that one of my team tell her whether he'd been there with another woman. No. parking lot and my valet attendant told me I thought she was going to run him over.

This is Dinner's On Me and I'm your host Jesse Tyler Ferguson. So today I'm at Kobe's in Santa Monica. This is somewhere that Curtis Stone picked and I'm actually so glad he did because it happens to be one of my favorite restaurants in all of L.A. I feel very fancy that I share one of my favorite restaurants with Curtis Stone to have good taste. So this place is so adorable. It's so cozy inside. And they married the flavors of Indonesia, Thailand, India, and it's just, look at this place.

So adorable, so cozy. And a perfect place to have a conversation with Curtis Stone. Okay, let's get to the conversation. I told Joanne I would start off by explaining something to you. This is because I'm feeling slightly insecure. So I'm doing a play right now in New York. And one of my opening night presence was a big, a zipper lighter.

Right. And so I was filling it with butane. Right. Some of it dripped off into the sink, and I didn't realize that. And I went to test the lighter, and all this heat and fire came exploding out of the sink onto my face. No. Like, this is four days ago. Oh, my God.

So I... Now I'm analyzing your face. Yeah. And they fake eyebrows? Now you're going to see that I look like I might have like just the beginnings of leprosy. So singed eyebrows, cinched hairline. Oh my God. Sinched eyelashes.

I used to have the most long and luxurious. Get a good luck. Long luxurious eyelashes. Those are gone. And then just like I put some makeup on just because, you know, we're on camera. But like there's a bit of a. It's quite, you got you good. It got me really good.

Anyway, I just needed to give you. you a heads up. Have you, I assume in the kitchen you've had like crazy weird. Oh yeah, all sorts of burns. Right? Even crazy, I have and I've cut the end of a finger off and I'll cut through a finger with a pair of scissors. So injuries for sure. But what's worse than injuring yourself is when someone else does a number on themselves and then you're a course responsible for it. So you have to be the first aid. You know, like, has that happened to you in your kitchens? Because if you're the head chef, it's your response to like you're the other person. So you're, what's the, the most common thing people like with just cutting themselves probably, right? Normally cuts and they

usually happen on mandolins or a slicer. I've had a couple of bad ones. And of course we have a butcher shop. So touch wood, nothing crazy. By the way, that butcher shop got me through COVID. Oh. Like Gwen. Yeah. You guys were great. Yeah, for sure. That's so cool. You know what? We got so much love from the community during that time because we did. We just tried to help everyone out. And we, we also were like, what's happening? Are we going to stay in business or are we going to go out of business? Like, so it was just kind of like whatever works. And one day a lady came in, she was there to buy meat, of course, but we'd had an alcohol delivery.

And she said, is that for sale? And I was like, sure. It's all for sale. What do you want? I broke open a box and got her a bottle of vodka or tequila or whatever it was. Whatever she muted. But that kind of started our market because then we're like, you know what? People can't get toilet paper at the moment.

Let's make it available for them. So we just started selling veggies and fruit and all sorts of stuff. and then we'd bake chicken pot pies. Yeah, I got one of those. It was delicious. At that time, it was such a rough time. We all come together. That's why I love this podcast so much.

It's like, you know, this is what we do. We come together with community and we, this is how we, you know, when we break bread with people and we share our stories, and like, there's something so wonderful about coming together and eating and having a meal together. And, like, we obviously couldn't do that. And so even having those special things, like, you know, Gwen was doing it with the pot pies and like John and Beny's was doing it with some of the, they had special items that you get.

And like it just felt like that restaurant culture was something that was, we could still try and bring home and like make something special out of, you're just a regular night at home. It was really, really wonderful. Yeah. And I'm glad that you came out on the other end of that. I know, thank God. You know what?

I, for the first time ever was home with my family seven nights a week. Yeah. I wasn't traveling and I couldn't go into the restaurant at night. we went open. Yeah. I could have if I had a wanted to get away from them, but I actually liked my family.

But I can remember sitting at the dinner table and being like, oh my God, this is what it's like for most people. Right. They're home for dinner. Yeah. How old are your kids now? 14 and 11.

Okay. Yeah. And we have special ways of making up for not being there in the evening, you know. But it was a really special time for me, bizarrely through the tragedy of COVID, you know. And I think a lot of people, people found the slowing down kind of cathartic.

I think so. I mean, I became a dad during that time, so I was a while to, you know, welcome in life during that period. But also such a gift that, because I was meant to be working at the time, and I would have been away for those early moments, and I was, you know, stuck at home.

And the best part was I wasn't missing out on anything. There was nothing like that I was, you know, neglecting. It felt like I could actually be at home and not feel guilty about not going to work. Right. It was kind of a gift in that way. It's cool. You start, as they get a little older, develop a really special friendship with them. Yeah.

It gets richer and fuller and better every single year. That's my favorite thing in the world, being a dad. Yeah. Me too, for sure, 100%. Do you think that they want to follow your steps in the culinary world? Well, no, I don't. I've got one boy who will try absolutely anything, Hudson. Uh-huh. Very adventurous. And my little guy, Emerson, won't eat it unless it comes out of a package.

He's just not interested in my... I literally said to him one day I cooked for him, and he just took one look at it and he pushed it away from him and he said, not eating it. And I was like... What was it? I can't even remember. But I've tried everything with it. Like, I've literally... I thought that I'm so happy to hear that because I was...

and you were going to come in with this like my kids eat anything because I that's how he raised them and my kids are really picky eaters right now and I'm struggling with how to push them to try things but also you know give them things that they want to eat I was on a TV show with catcora when my firstborn was and she said listen whatever you and Lindsay are having for dinner stick it in a food processor blend it and then serve it to them and I promise you they'll eat everything and I was like okay so that's kind of what we did with HUD and he ain't everything and I was like I'm a genius I know I can write a book right and I would garden with them and I thought I had it all figured out and then along came

emerson and dude there's just nothing I could do he won't eat an egg he's never eaten an egg really yeah limiting it is there's all those people with allergies trying things that they're yeah I know they said wireless at their radio right now or wherever you listen to this podcast but he just you know no he's very very independent in the way he thinks about food what does he like anything fried anything white he's basically a red

it's a redneck diet you know like barbecue he'll eat barbecue if it's chicken it's got to be in breadcrumbs it's a real challenge for me to wrap my head around now for a quick break

but don't go away when we come back Curtis reflects on the criticism that pushed him to open his first fine dining restaurant Los Angeles Maud earning a Michelin Star by the way so I think he proved

the naysayers wrong okay be right back When you're about to leave town for a long stretch, everything suddenly feels really important. What are you packing? What are you forgetting? And what will life look like when you're gone? I'm heading to London this summer to do a production of Jesus Christ Superstar and playing King Herod. And it's one of those trips when you're away long enough that you really have to, you know, get organized. And it made me think about how many people are heading into summer travel right now, whether it's work, family trips, or just getting out of town for a bit. If you're going to be away, it can be a great opportunity to list your space on Airbnb and earn a little extra cash while you're gone.

Let's your homework for you instead of it just sitting empty. If the logistics feel like a lot, I totally understand that, you don't have to take it all on yourself. With Airbnb's co-host network, you can partner with the local co-hosts who can help manage the day-to-day details like managing reservations, handling guest communication and on-site support, so everything feels more manageable when you're away. So before summer really kicks in, it might be the right time to get started. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows.

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I'll have still, yeah, thanks. Yeah, of course. Anything else like cocktails, any other beverages for you Not for me. I know you have a non-alcoholic sparkling that I've had before. Yeah. But I don't know if you still have it. It might be one of our leachy, like the leachy business is really good. I think I'm going to be good with just a sparkling water now.

Sounds good. Yeah, absolutely. When did you come to America? God, it's nearly 20 years ago now. Okay. Yeah. I think the culinary scene here is great. And by the way, you picked this restaurant today.

Yes. Have you noticed that there has been a shift in, like, the culinary scene? massively. In LA, yeah. It's changed so much. I think LA used to be a good place to eat sushi and maybe a good place to come and get Korean food. But it's really developed into this city

that, yes, has a ton of diversity that's available for you, and that's cool. And authenticity is important here, for sure. But now there's good gastronomy as well, right? Because not that good Thai food or good Korean food or good Mexican food It's not gastronomic. But what I mean is that sort of high-end refined style of cooking.

It wasn't really here when I came 20 years ago. I'm not saying I brought it, but I've really seen it flourish. And I've seen good restaurants open. And I remember when I first opened Maud, it was probably 13 years ago. And I'm like, where am I going to find the team? Because I wanted to do something quite elevated. And when you looked around. The side of town?

Yeah, Beverly Hills. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, South Beverly. Anyway, the king. The kitchen ended up being Aussies, a guy from London, someone from Spain, a couple from New York. And you was sort of this very international, people from all over the world came to work in that restaurant. And then once you close, or through the course of the 10 years you're open, those guys

move on, but they don't leave the city. And that was happening with other good restaurants as well. So you end up with a much bigger base of good cooks that you can hire. Because you can't run a good restaurant without good cooks. Right. You need to have a good team. and you need them to have a certain level of experience so they know what they're doing.

I've seen it really developed and now there's two and three-star Michelin restaurants here and a bunch of great one-stars and then also a bunch of great casual, simple, easy. I went to a delicious joint and had a bagel on the weekend and I said to Hudson, this is as good as going to any great restaurant. And it's just down the road in Santa Monica.

You know, it's like food's wonderful. I love it. I'll still get excited about it. I've been an investor in certain restaurants. I was an investor in All Day Baby, which unfortunately closed shortly after pandemic. To see all that come together, I saw firsthand how rare it is and how hard it is. I mean, it is sort of like trying to put together a movie or something. Like it's kind of a miracle sometimes that the money comes in and the food is good.

And like all those elements that have to come together to make it a successful restaurant, I certainly know the heartbreak of having, you know, believing in something and having it go away. And, like, you know, modern families. And it was a bell around 11 years. And it was incredible success. But, like, it was very hard to say goodbye to that. I bet. And, you know, with Maud, you said it was about a decade.

Yeah. And, you know, Michelin starred. And, like, it was such an institution. How did you make the decision to close it? And also, when that happened, like, what emotions came with that? Yeah. Because that was also your first kind of big place. It was, yeah.

And in LA? Yeah, look, it was one of those restaurants. We did a different menu every month, and it always revolved around a special ingredient. So it was a pretty unique environment that, you know, I'd never experienced a restaurant like that before, but it meant that we had to develop a 10-course menu every 30 days. Right.

And because it was around an ingredient, it always had to be really unique. It was a joy to do, but I always knew that I always knew that, I couldn't do it forever because it just took so much of me and the team. So we sort of, you know, we bumbled along for the 10 years, 11 years actually. But by the end of it, I said, look, at some point I have to shut. And it's going to break my heart.

We were still fully booked at that time. And I was like, I think it's now. Because if I don't close it while it's full and it feels great, it'll make me really sad. So that's what I did. But it was. And our guests were like, why? Why are you doing it? And I was like, because it's never going to be the right time,

but I just felt like in that moment that was the time to do it. Oh, look at this. I'm going to put these grilled prawns right over here. At the bottom is going to be that yellow bean sauce. It's going to be topped. The heads are edible if you guys feel like eating those. This is going to be the Kampachi. This is a raw amberjack with coconut dressing.

It's going to be top with some leak of ash. It's like fried scowlands. Good man. Thank you. Thank you. I love this place. Me too, I do. I'm so happy you picked it.

I was so torn about picking it because now I know, it's already impossible to get in here. I know, that's why I was so happy you picked it. It's kind of... That's got to be even harder. Yeah, yeah. We won't earn the episode. Yeah, don't. We'll just keep it secret.

Just delay it. So we didn't order because they're creating a special menu for us. So everything that's come out, I think, is... I don't think you've had anything to say about this, have you? No. No, they just put this together for us, so. Oh, yum.

Yeah, we have not seen a menu. It's going to be a surprise. It's going to be one of those things. We're like, is this the last dish when we're like so full? Was it, were there any regrets about, like, was there questions about closing mod when it was at such a height? I mean, you know, the team wanted to keep pushing. They wanted to try and get a second star. They wanted to just keep going for it.

But I think you've got to be careful with your focus. and if you're trying to more pie a salad for you guys oh yummer that's great thank you

it can actually distract you know like I feel like sometimes when you for me the culinary side

of Ford was so intense it was taking a lot of my time but I wanted to spend more time on Gwen I wanted to develop some other ideas

that I could do and I never wanted to feel stagnant you know do you ever feel because I mean obviously so many people know you from your work on TV being on a judge on what was the top chef masters.

Did you ever feel like if you had to pick a lane so to speak about like being a chef in a restaurant and restaurant or being a restaurant tour or being a chef on TV would you be able to choose and also do you ever feel like because of your TV, you know, your TV persona that it's, did you ever have a hard time having people take you seriously as a, as a chef? For sure. Yeah. That's actually why I opened more. I read something, because I'd only worked in great restaurants in Europe. Right. Then I moved to the States and did a TV show. And I read something about myself, which you probably should never do, but it was like, someone had said, I love that you always remember that you'll remember word for word.

Word for word. Someone said, well, you know, you would expect him to be better on television scene. He's not a real restaurant chef. Oh, okay. Which pissed me off. Yeah, naturally, yeah. You know, like, but the truth is, I never had an ego in it, and I was never precious about it. But my son was just born.

And when I read that, I was like, oh, my God, what are my kids going to think of me when they'll read this stuff? So I was like, I'm going to open a restaurant. And I literally came back from the park. And I got back and I said to Lynn, honey, I'm going to open a restaurant. And she goes, what? And I was like, yeah. And she's like, do it, you should.

Of course, she didn't know what it actually meant that I would never be home and I'd always be at work. Right. But at that moment, I was kind of happy doing what I was doing. Because when you do television, it's an interesting thing as a chef. You get to sort of share your love of food with a really broad audience. Yeah. Where when you're in your restaurant, it's just the 50, 60, 100 people that come in that night.

They're both beautiful, but they're just really different. Yeah. So I was enjoying doing more of the television. And I think I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder when I opened more, which is why it was so, if I look back on it, I'm like, well, it was so aspirational because I had something to prove. I was like, oh yeah. Journalists of Los Angeles, you think I kind of. You know, so I had this like, right, a little chip on my shoulder,

but the truth is on my happiest when I'm in the restaurant. I really am. I love it. I love the camaraderie with your team. I love the feeling of it's all about to fall apart, which happens every single night. You start your service, it starts off pretty calm,

and then as the check starts to mound up and the pressure starts to rise, most people would probably want to run from that sort of situation. but I thrive in it. I just love it. Have you ever been called out of the kitchen and yelled at by a customer? Oh my God.

I have, we deal with upset customers regularly. Yeah. You know, you just do in the restaurant business. Yeah. Thank God it's not always about the food. Right. But, you know, people get upset because they didn't get the table they wanted

or they felt like someone treated them disrespectfully. And quite often it's just a misuse. understanding. Yeah. There's also alcohol involved in restaurants. That's right. So sometimes you guess, totally, might misjudge things ever so slightly because they've had one too

many glasses of wine. Yeah. I mean, you heard these stories about celebrities getting kicked out of restaurants all the time. Right. Yeah. And people will fight. We have customers, we've had guests just recently.

They got into a big fight at the table. She threw a drink on her spouse. She demanded that one of my team tell her. whether he'd been there with another woman. No. You tell me now. Has he or has he not been in here? How are he?

Then things calm down. I'm not going to say. Then things calmed down, I should say. Then they went to the parking lot and my valet attendant told me the next day I had this couple. So we were able to trace the fight all the way to the parking lot. God, that's so good. So, you know, we get these juicy stories that we normally

just keep to ourselves, here I am blabbing to you. But look, we never talk about our guests. Right? People always ask me about the celebrities that come in and I'm like, if I did that, I would be like one of these places with the photographers out the front. You know, we have all sorts of incredible people come to us for dinner, and we really do respect their privacy. Now for a quick break, but don't go away.

When we come back, Curtis explains why kindness from guests stands out more than anything else, and he reveals how a long-standing hiring philosophy shaped the culture of his kitchen in unexpected ways. This episode is brought to you by L'Oreal Group. Beauty is a powerful force that moves us. That's why L'Oreal Group has built a business that is inclusive at its heart with 100% of its brands, championing diversity. With 25,000 professional opportunities for people under 30 worldwide

and 54% of leading positions held by women, diversity is a strength that helps L'Oreal Group create the best beauty products for all people. Visit laurel.com to learn more. Are you one of those media strategy people clicking through slides, scrolling spreadsheets? Yes? Good. This is for you. Because on Spotify, there's an audience that's different.

Locked in. Loyal, invested. They're called fans. Fans don't just listen to music. They feel seen by it like it belongs to them. So when your brand shows up on Spotify, that's who you're talking to. And you're right next to artists like me, Lizzo. So, are you ready to talk to fans? You're among fans.

Wildcard is where big name interviews feel like conversations with a friend. I mean, I can't believe how lucky I've been. You didn't say goodbye the right way, McCona. She told me, I don't think you're Princeton material. I'm nothing if not open, I guess. I'm Rachel Martin. Watch or listen to Wildcard on the NPR app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back with more dinners on me.

I did a play on Broadway called Fully Committed about a reservationist at a very high-end restaurant. So I played the reservationist. It's a one-man show. So I played the reservationist and also all the people calling into the restaurant trying to get a table. I play the hostess, I play the chef. It was like 40 different characters. It's a really great play. But one of the things I got to experience as I was doing research for it was I got to go to a lot of these really high-end New York restaurants, like Gramsue Tavern and ABC Kitchen and John George and like we and I got to go into the

reservation rooms and watch the reservationists like open up the lines and um they told me that there are certain codes for you know certain customers yeah I have a friend who uh she could be very loud right and she can you know after few drinks get a little bit boisterous anyway one of our friends told her at one point, they're like, you know, there's a code for you in our system. And it's, um, H2H. H2H. And she says, well, what does that mean? And it's hard to handle.

So they know when she makes a reservation, she's got an H2H and they know what to expect. But also like, maybe not give her a table if like, don't go out of their way to like, you know, get her in if she needs to get, if she wants the reservation. Is that something you are, I mean, your restaurant's employed? Absolutely. We're totally guilty. Yes. We keep notes. I actually read my wife's notes to her once. Really?

I wish I videoed it because she will often, she always knows everyone. So she'll always get up and go and start talking with other tables or someone will come and meet her and then she'll go and she'll chat to them. And in her notes, said, is often out of her chair. No. And difficult to drop multiple course menus to. Interesting. So I read it to her and she's like,

Oh my God, that's quite intrusive. Was she really trying to explain yourself? It's the truth, babe. You never sit down. Oh, my God, it's so funny. But, yeah, no, we do keep notes on our guests. Because we like to, to your point, make special things happen for. It seems like it's more for, like, the good experience, not necessarily.

You know, you want to be able to provide things and know enough about them. Like, you know, anniversaries are always remembered and, like, birthdays and those things. I just thought the H2H was incredibly. It's hard to handle. We don't use that code, but we're going to start. Start using it. Start using it. I mean, if customers could know that it's like one thing that they should be doing in a restaurant to like impress the servers or the staff, like, what would that?

I mean, obviously, like, being generous and being a great tipper and being kind, is there something that, like, people do that it's like, oh, that's something that's very special that not a lot of people think to do? I think it's whenever you have someone that's really kind to the team. That's what really stands out. And it can be as simple as someone just poking their head into the kitchen at the end of the meal and saying, guys, congratulations, that was fabulous. Thank you. You know, it can be that simple. Yeah, yeah.

And we've had bigger gestures. We've had people send a box of beer for the guys in the kitchen at the end of service or a box of cupcakes the next day for family meal, you call it, where they sort of say, you know, dinner was so. Michel last night we wanted to give you guys a treat. Little things like that that, well, they're not little things. They're beautiful gestures. But yeah, that's always really well. But also those people are definitely getting at reservation.

Oh, yeah. They're going to go and star. You know, it is a two-way street. As long as I'm not H2H, that's that I'm good. I remember reading this a long time ago, and I forgot to ask about it when I was on your show. You had a no actor policy at Mod, right? That's right, yeah. Yeah.

I'm interested. Tell me more. Not as our guests. As our servers. No, I know. Because a lot of... Of course not as your guest. Can you imagine?

You'd have no guests. You just wouldn't serve them food. Sorry, you're an actor. You're out. I should have clarified, as on your staff as servers, no actor policy as. Yeah, we did. We did. Put this right over here for you guys.

Thank you so much. So this is going to be the butter chicken. Oh, God. Cilancho and yogurt. Third dried finagree confat. This is the Jasmine rice here on the side. really well with the butter chicken. I'm gonna be back with some more gifts for you guys. Okay. I love butter chicken so much. So do I. Have you ever made it?

I have. I love Indian food. Me too. I think it's my favorite. My current favorite. On this side for you guys, this is gonna be our beef friend hang. Oh, nice. This is this slow-cooked Indonesian beef. Really nice and tender. Pairs really well with this gulai. This is like the coconut squash curry. And then over here on this side, this is the lime leaf chili. These pair very well together with the beef friending. I would say, yeah, make them, mix them together for a nice bite. Very, very good, guys.

And this is going to be the roti, like the non-vertee. Enjoy it. Wow. It smells so good. That smells so good. I love this curry. Yeah, it's great. It's my favorite.

So, we, when I first started meeting people in L.A., everyone that would come in for a job would say, well, I'm an actor. Yes. But if I don't book anything, I'll be available. And I'm like, how on you? earth can I schedule that?

Like, I need, we're open five nights a week, and I need the same crew. So they can learn and develop and understand the 300 wines we have on the list. So that's kind of where it started. And I was like, let's just really try and get our arms around hospitality as an industry, because there are incredible hospitality professionals, and it really is a beautiful industry. Yeah. So we sort of were like, let's really dive deep and support that as

much as we can and not have a restaurant where there wasn't so much that we didn't want actors. We didn't want people that saw it as my second choice. Totally. So that's kind of where it started. I really respect all that, by the way.

I think that, you know, it's prioritizing what you were, obviously, something you're very passionate about. And, you know, I, you wouldn't want it the other way around with an actor being like, well, how am I going to act against someone who might not be there on a consistent basis? Yeah, exactly. I mean, you also have worked with this organization that I really love, I've known about for a while, called Chrysalis, where you employ formerly incarcerated and unhoused people. Mm-hmm.

You started that when you were at Mott, right? That's right. Right. Yeah. Now, look, I went to this fancy Hollywood gathering called the Butterfly Ball. I think I've been to that. Have you been to it? Yeah.

Oh, we'd love to have you back. Yeah. It's, um, I listen to this guy, get up and talk, and he was out of jail, and he decided in jail to turn his life around. And then he couldn't. He couldn't get a job. He couldn't, you know, so he fell back into this cycle. Because imagine going for a job and they say, are where were you working before this? like, well, I've just come out of jail.

Right. It shuts down most interviews, as you can imagine. Yeah. So he told this story of going through this cycle a few times and then finding Chrysalis in and out of jail. He found Chrysalis and they were like, we'll help you. We'll help you get your first job. We'll help you get presentable and we'll teach you how to do an interview properly.

And he got his first job. And then he moved on to his next job and his next job. And then he found love and ended up having a kid. and became a really meaningful, like, contributed society. And it just made me sort of go, my God, you drive past so many people in Los Angeles where you think your poor soul, you know. Yeah.

But you don't know how to help. And I thought, even if you help one person, get back on track. And their whole motto at Chryslerus is we give people a hand up, not a handout. Right. So that really resonated with me. So I was like, give me what?

I'll give it a shot. So we hired someone, we had a dishwasher position open and this guy Darrell came in he's still with me worked with me for 12 years beautiful man tough past

you know and we've probably had 30 or so Chrysler's employees through outdoors at different times and it's always interesting so anyway we've had a wonderful experience

working with those people and I think it's made the team at large really rich because I've got guys that have worked only in three Michelin-Star restaurants, and I've got people that have only done the best of the best of the best. But when we all sit around a table and break bread before service, it's humbling when you get to actually speak to people from different walks of life

and makes you care about each other in a different way. So it's been a gift that's kept giving back to us. It's really incredible because I think in the moment, it's just, you don't realize you might be changing someone's life when you say, sure, take this job and see how we do. But it could, it could. Absolutely. Absolutely changed their life.

Yeah, and I've seen it again and again, you know, and I think that's what's so beautiful about it. And when you humble yourself and put yourself in the position of we're all the same, you know, we're all the same human beings. We've just had different experiences. Then, you know, I've had some of these guys celebrate Thanksgiving with me, with my family, and welcome them into my home. and had them around my kids when they were much younger. Right.

I've got this one guy, a big tattoo on his face. And if you saw me greet him in the street, you'd be like, oh my God, how do you know that guy? Yeah. He's one of my pals. You know, like, and that's what's so interesting to me about it. Like, if I had stopped and contemplated that at the beginning of the journey, I might have thought to myself, is it dangerous?

Is it, you know, is it all right to have these people in your business? Is it a threat to the other staff members? and then you sort of just leave all that bullshit to the side and go, you know what, we're all just humans and yeah, they'll be bumps, but you know what? We've had issues with people that come from wonderful backgrounds, do you know what I mean? We've had one staff member, you know, an incident of theft

from another staff member. It wasn't one of our guys from Chrysalis. Right. You know what I mean? So we're all, we've all got the propensity to be amazing and terrible, at the same time. It's really remarkable. And I think, you know, you also lead by example,

which is so important, because, you know, by you doing that and sharing those stories, I think it inspires other people to absolutely, you know, follow suit. And I think it's really, really wonderful. No, thank you. Yeah.

I think it's really remarkable. It's great. It's almost as good as this butter chicken dang. Isn't it? It's good. So good. I'm so glad you did this. I did your podcast.

You did mine, we're even now. Thanks for having. Some shop you did, thanks for you. Thanks for picking up the chick. Yes, dinner is on me. Yeah. Don't worry about it. Dinner's on me.

This episode of Dinner's On Me was recorded at Cobe's in Santa Monica, California. Next week on Dinner's On Me, you know her as Charlotte York Goldblatt and Sex in the City, and just like that, it's Kristen Davis. We'll talk about the influence her fellow Sex in the City co-stars had on her as a person, her incredible volunteer work shedding light on the refugee crisis around the world, and we'll get into her decision to adopt two kids on her own. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinner's On Me Plus.

As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad free. Just click try free at the top of the Dinners On Me show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today. Dinner's On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay.

Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Bear engineered this episode. Hans Dale She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balanced Kalasney and Justin McKita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.