There are days, I reflect, watching Curtis Stone shrug off his motorbike jacket and in one smooth motion wrap a crackling white apron around his waist, when I quite enjoy my work. Having not one but two young Australian pin-up chefs blithely rustling up a fantastic meal exclusively for me is not a bad way to pass a Friday afternoon, you'll agree, and they make it look so simple.
If Jamie Oliver sold the idea of cooking as a pursuit that could be casual, unstuffy and open to a whole demographic that failed to find inspiration in Delia or Antony Worrall Thompson, Stone, 28, and Ben O'Donoghue, 32, have taken up that image and dressed it in an extra layer of cool - they are the Justin Timberlakes to Oliver's Gareth Gates.
Where Oliver is boyish and cheeky, they have cultivated a more grown-up kind of laid-back, surfer-dude attitude that we chilly, buttoned-up Brits like to imagine is the default setting of all Australians, and appear to have fallen into a natural double act that makes them ideal presenters: easy banter, gentle reciprocal mockery, with a firm emphasis on enjoyment that comes as a breath of fresh air amid the forced jollity of so many TV chefs. That their partnership began when they were invited onto a cookery show to demonstrate Aussie hangover cures is emphasised in their book as indicative of the kind of, if not exactly laddish, then certainly blokey appeal the commissioning editors intend them to have.
When I meet them, both are still working as full-time chefs in high-profile London restaurants - O'Donoghue at the Atlantic Bar and Grill in Piccadilly, and Stone at Bluebird in Chelsea - but their burgeoning television careers are beginning to take over; in fact, Curtis is leaving the next day for a seven-month trip to Australia, where he will present a reality show that gives members of the public a chance to compete in running their own restaurant.
Although neither set out to become a TV chef - the ambition was always to follow in the footsteps of mentors such as Marco Pierre White - both say the opportunities found them. 'I was never interested in the idea of performance,' says Stone, as he darts around the kitchen knocking up a wild mushroom and goose risotto, 'but in a city like London it's something you do on a daily basis without even thinking about it.'
So, did they ever anticipate becoming pin-up chefs?
'God, is that what they call us?' Stone looks mildly horrified. 'Actually I'm pretty happy about that - Bender's got a lovely fiancée and a baby daughter, so he has to try and steer away from the girls.'
'I try to palm them off on Stoney,' says O'Donoghue. 'Well, actually, I don't have to try, they tend to go that way anyway.'
It's true that Stone is lead-singer pretty, but O'Donoghue's rapturous mentions of his partner and daughter throughout their new book win him the sensitive man vote; what's more, they can both produce a mouth-watering meal in under half an hour without even appearing to look at what's going in the saucepan. It's a wonder they're not mobbed by women every time they step out of their front doors.
'We don't really get groupies,' says Stone. 'Bender gets recognised here more than I do because he's been on BBC2. I'm expecting it to happen a bit more when I get back to Oz because Surfing the Menu was on a main channel there. But the biggest thing that's happened to us is that one of the barmen where I used to work came in a with a poster of me and Ben that he'd found in a gay bar in Soho. So I guess we've become gay icons. Well, you have to work the pink pound, you know?'
Both came to London because of the opportunities to train with some of the most important chefs in the world - O'Donoghue started at the River Café and moved on to Monte's in Knightsbridge, while Stone worked with Marco Pierre White at Café Royal, Mirabelle and Quo Vadis before moving to Terence Conran's Bluebird - but have relished the opportunity to return to Australia for their book and series, Surfing the Menu.
'It's all about lifestyle out there,' says O'Donoghue. 'Freshness, simplicity, good basic products. But Australian food these days is far more eclectic than people here might perceive it to be, because of all the different influences - European, Asian.'
Neither has plans to return to Australia on a permanent basis in the near future. After his current show is finished, Stone will return to London and begin working at another Conran venture, while O'Donoghue is working on future book and television projects and remaining as head chef at Atlantic.
'With this business, it's all about how high you want to climb - there's a ladder, but you have to put the hours in if you want to get to the top,' says Stone. 'It's all about self-discipline,' O'Donoghue adds. 'But obviously you have to love doing it as well.'
It's this sense that, above all, they love the food and the camaraderie of cooking that fits them so well for television. Whatever happens, it's certain that both are too charismatic to remain hidden away in the kitchen for much longer.
· Surfing the Menu screens on UK Food over the weekend of 28/29 February. Surfing the Menu by Ben O'Donoghue and Curtis Stone. Published by BBC Books
Recipes
Spiced mussel and saffron soup
Curtis: This is a soup that I picked up from the master, Marco Pierre White. I have altered it slightly but it is very much his creation. Don't worry about throwing away the mussels after you strain the soup. You have cooked all the flavour and juice out of them, so you are not wasting food - better yet, if you have a cat you will be a popular person.
serves 6
2 large pinches of saffron threads
750 ml/1 bottle dry white wine
55g butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 fresh bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
2.5kg mussels, scrubbed and debearded
500 ml fish stock
450 ml pouring cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a large pot, then add the onion, celery, leek, curry powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, thyme and saffron. Cook for 5-6 minutes over a low heat, bleeding colour from the saffron.
Once the vegetables are soft, add the mussels, give them a good stir and cover the pot. Cook until opened, for about 1 minute. Discard those that haven't opened, and reserve 6-18 (depending on their size) to garnish. Add the remaining white wine, bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add the fish stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cream and return to the near boil.
Strain the soup through a colander, then through a sieve lined with muslin. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Extract the meat from most of the mussels and discard the shells. Retain some in their shells to garnish the soup. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and add the mussels.
Rock oysters with champagne jelly
Curtis: What can I say about oysters and champagne? I like to eat such exquisite seafood very simply and this is a match made in heaven. Champagne and wines can be turned into jellies so simply. For instance, Madeira works beautifully with chicken liver parfait.
serves 4
24 rock oysters (any oysters will do), freshly shucked
300 ml champagne
3 gelatine leaves
1.5 kg rock salt
200 ml water
1 cup loosely packed watercress
Remove the oysters from their shells and place in a bowl with their juices. Cover and keep in the refrigerator. Clean and dry the shells.
Pour the champagne into a saucepan and place over a low heat to warm. Put the gelatine leaves in a bowl and cover with cold water. When softened, squeeze dry with your hand and add to the champagne. Heat, stirring, until the gelatine dissolves. Remove from the heat.
Slightly moisten the rock salt with the water and spread on a tray large enough to take the oysters. Place the oyster shells on top so that they are sitting level. Pour enough champagne into each shell to half fill. Chill in the fridge until set. Chill any remaining jelly in a small container in the fridge. Once set, break up this jelly using a fork. Place 3-4 leaves of watercress at the back of each shell. Place an oyster on the jelly and then add some broken-up jelly at the back of theshell.
Barbecued sweetcorn with lime, chilli and parmesan butter
Ben: The first time I tasted these flavours I was in New York at a little Cuban café on Prince Street, and thought wow! Now this recipe is a regular number on my barbecue menu at home. It's simple to prepare, and fun to eat.
serves 4
4 whole corn cobs, in their husks
100g unsalted butter, softened
100g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
finely grated zest of 2 large limes
1-2 bird's-eye chillies, seeded and finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, quartered
Place the corn cobs on a preheated hot grill and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes, turning often. Peel off the husks when cool enough to handle. While the corn is cooking, combine the butter, parmesan, zest and chilli, and beat until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Smear each cob with the butter and serve with a wedge of lime.
Porterhouse pot-roasted with bay, garlic and red wine vinegar
Ben: This dish would be great with a lovely creamy purée of parsnips or some braised silver beet or Swiss chard.
serves 4-6
1 kg whole porterhouse (sirloin) beef
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs olive oil, for browning
55g butter
10 fresh bay leaves
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
375 ml Cabernet Sauvignon
vinegar
Trim the fat on the piece of beef to about 2cm thick. Using a sharp knife, cut a criss-cross pattern at 1cm intervals across the fat. Season lightly with salt, but add plenty of pepper. Heat oil in a large heavy-based flameproof pot. Add the beef and brown on all sides, leaving the fatty side until last. Reduce the heat and slowly brown the fat. Remove the beef from the pot and drain off the fat.
Melt the butter in the pot until foaming and then add the beef. Add the bay leaves, garlic and 5 tablespoons of vinegar. Moisten a piece of baking paper large enough to cover the pot. Push the damp paper into the pot to rest on and cover the beef entirely. Simmer over a low heat until the vinegar reduces by half. Add a little more vinegar and when that reduces, add a little more. Continue in this way until the beef is cooked to medium, for about 50-70 minutes. The sauce should never completely reduce because you are trying to create an emulsion. Add water, if necessary.
Turn off the heat and rest for 10 minutes. Slice the beef and serve. Spoon the sauce over the beef and garnish with bay leaves and garlic.
