Here's Why Chef Curtis Stone Doesn't Shop at Costco

Ellen DeGeneres and Michelle Obama love it, Tamra Judge calls it "the happiest place on Earth" — no, they're not talking about Disneyland. Their obsession is Costco, the big box store that's a beloved destination across America. After Erika Jayne documented surviving a day there and Patricia Altschul used it to stock up on pre-hurricane necessities, we were starting to think it was one of the only things that all Bravolebs could possibly agree on, but Top Chef Junior host Curtis Stone told us he doesn't shop there for a very good reason: He owns his own restaurants in Los Angeles, Maude and Gwen.

"To be honest with you, I pick up most of my stuff from the restaurant," he told The Feast. "I cheat. I take my ingredients from work. Our closest store is Gelson’s so I probably shop there more than anything else but I’m a pretty boring shopper. You know, like veggies and eggs and milk. I don't pick up a lot of stuff from the center of the supermarket, to be honest."

Gwen has a butcher shop inside the restaurant that offers an elaborate charcuterie program of cured meats that it makes in-house, and has access to the finest ingredients around the world. That beats a six-pack of socks and microwave popcorn any day in our book, though you'd be missing the Costco Polish dogs then. 

See more of Curtis and co-host Vanessa Lachey on Top Chef Junior, which airs Saturdays 6/5c on Universal Kids. Catch up on episodes online, and you'll be all set for the Season 2 finale on Saturday.