Curtis Duffy (chef and restaurateur)
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Umbrella
4.6 • 68.3K Ratings
🗓️ 25 June 2025
⏱️ 113 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Curtis Duffy (Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef, Ever) is a chef, restaurateur, 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.
Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to Armchair Expert early and ad free right now. |
| 0:06.5 | Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:10.0 | Or you can listen for free wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:14.1 | Welcome, welcome, welcome to armchair expert, experts on expert. |
| 0:17.6 | I'm Dan Shepard. |
| 0:18.8 | I'm joined by Monica Padman. Hi. And Aaron Michael Weekly. |
| 0:21.6 | Hello. |
| 0:22.5 | Today's guest is Curtis Duffy. |
| 0:25.3 | Any foodie in the world will recognize Curtis's name immediately. |
| 0:29.3 | He's a Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur, known for the Chicago-based restaurants, Ever and Grace. |
| 0:36.5 | He has a new memoir out that is hair raising. |
| 0:41.2 | He has really lived a life. |
| 0:42.3 | My God, did he go through it all? |
| 0:44.3 | The book is called Fireproof Memoir of a Chef. |
| 0:48.5 | Was it you that was just making fun of how I say a memoir? |
| 0:50.6 | Yes, it was. |
| 0:51.4 | Yeah. |
| 0:52.0 | What do you, because sometimes they say memoir. |
| 0:54.0 | That is what you normally say. I want to say memoir. Yeah. What do you, because sometimes they say memoir. That is what you |
| 0:54.5 | normally say memoir. Yeah. And I correct myself to memoir. Yeah, which is correct. That's correct. |
| 0:59.4 | Yeah. How would you say it? Memoir. Memoir. Yeah. The memoir is up on the road. Maybe it's a Michigan thing. |
| 1:06.0 | We just don't know how to talk. Please enjoy Curtis Duffy. We are supported by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all-in-one |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 23 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Armchair Umbrella, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Armchair Umbrella and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.