Coles brings in Curtis Stone’s cookware sold on the US Home Shopping Network

Coles is taking on its rivals with a new competitive product that’s as cheap as $10 with the help of its celebrity chef, Curtis Stone.

When Australian chef Curtis Stone isn’t in the kitchen or on a reality TV cooking show, he’s selling millions of pots, pans and knives to Americans on the Home Shopping Network.

Now, he’s bringing his own personally designed ‘‘Cook with Curtis’’ cookware – which he started with a high school friend years ago – to Australia.

“I got involved in kitchenware over a decade ago when I moved out of a professional kitchen and I was doing a TV show called Take Home Chef.

“It was driving me crazy that everything was so difficult and it got me thinking ‘God if there were only products like the ones in kitchens that we could get in people’s homes’ – and that’s where we found a gap in the market,” he said.

Stone’s high-end cookware, to be sold exclusively in Coles, includes knives made of Japanese steel, cookware, chopping boards and other utensils that are department store quality at supermarket prices, ranging from $10 to $55.

The Michelin-starred chef, who has sold his cookware in Bloomingdales in the US, said he was selling it through Coles to offer more value to customers.

“It’s high quality, really affordable kitchenware. We’ve had real success with a non-stick five-layer coating we’ve developed called Dura-Pan … the product has titanium and granite in it and it’s harder than the steel utensils you’re actually using,” he said.

“You can crack eggs into a pan, with no oil or a tiny lick of butter. You can cook fresh steaks in this cookware with no oil and get beautiful caramelisation. It slides right out and there’s virtually no clean-up.”

Australian Chef Curtis Stone launches his very own cookware brand: 'Cook with Curtis' at Coles. Picture: Supplied

Stone and his Melbourne-based business partner Harry Pourounidis now have plans to expand their reach into South-East Asia.

Unlike other celebrity chefs who sign licensing deals to lend their name to a brand, Stone is still heavily involved in designing his cookware.

“When Harry and I started the business we were literally a two-man show … now the business has grown to probably 40 employees,” he said.

“I own the company. I love the design process, I believe in it. I don’t do a tonne of deals and we’re very careful about how we produce stuff.”

The move comes as Coles and Woolworths take on Kmart in premium homewares.

Woolworths just launched a new homewares range in August.

“We know customers are looking for simple and affordable ways to improve their space,” Woolworths general manager for non-food James Hepworth said.

The Kmart Group, which operates Kmart, Target and Catch, has seen revenue grow to $9.9bn in the last financial year.

Stone also said he hoped to come home in January next year once international travel reopens, and had called on Australians to get vaccinated to help the hospitality industry reopen safely.

“We haven’t got a double vaccinated policy here in California – I wish they would. It’s tricky when you have a group come in for dinner. If someone doesn’t have a vaccination paper do you throw them out?” he said. “I wish everyone would get vaccinated so we could get back to normal reality.”

Originally published as Coles brings in Curtis Stone’s cookware sold on the US Home Shopping Network