The wife and mom on her new Food Network show and who she thinks is putting her face all over those shady internet memes.
Let’s be clear: Ayesha Curry, the 27 year-old wife to NBA super star Stephen Curry and doting mother to daughters Riley, 3, and Ryan, 9 months, is nobody’s Stepford wife. This Canadian-born, Charlotte, North Carolina raised budding chef opened up to ESSENCE.com about her upcoming new Food Network show, her go-to date night meal to cook for Steph and those crazy memes (yes, those memes!).
Tell us about your new show on The Food Network.
It was an amazing process. I can’t wait for people to see it. It’s allowing me to share my passion of cooking more than I can on the Internet. I’m also excited because I get to highlight some cool places in the Bay area.
So the show has a lifestyle element?
Yes. I’ll be highlighting fun farms and different restaurants and learning things as I go along. I’m a home chef so I never went to school (for cooking). The show is very family inspired.
What can we expect from your upcoming cookbook, The Seasoned Life: Food, Family, Fun and the Joy of Eating Well?
More than 100 delicious, easy and approachable recipes. Nothing is too difficult. We’re a generation that’s always on the move, always busy, always tackling ten things at once. My goal is to simplify things so people want to get in the kitchen and prepare a meal for their family and have time to sit at the table and talk to each other.
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Is that important for your own family?
It’s the basis for all of this. I have four siblings so there were five of us growing up and dinnertime or whenever we could sit down [with our parents] and have a meal together was when we communicated the most. I feel like that’s a dying thing these days, people gathering around the table at home. I’m trying to keep it alive through the show and my book. Even if you have 15 minutes, you can prepare a meal for your family.
What’s your go-to romantic dinner to prepare for Stephen?
Lamb chops. Whenever we get a moment for an elaborate dinner, like on a date night, I do lamb chops and bacon-wrapped scallops, roasted asparagus, and some sort of starch like scalloped potatoes or loaded mashed potatoes. He loves it. If you ask him he’d probably say chicken parmesan. But I like to go the fancier route. (Laughs)
Should we expect any guest appearances from Stephen, Riley or Ryan on the show?
Absolutely! They’ll pop in and out when it makes sense. My family is my pride and joy so I have no problem showing them off.
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Speaking of family, Stephen and his teammates appear to have a true brotherhood. Do you ever cook for them?
I have in the past. I baked them pumpkin squares for a flight once. They were flying out after a game so I put vanilla ice cream in a cooler [to be eaten with the squares] and packed up warm pumpkin squares. Stephen was like, everybody loved the pumpkin squares but the ice cream is still here because they couldn’t wait. They just started taking it out of the pan! It’s always nice when you get a group of people who really enjoy their job and working together. And I think that’s what is happening with them [The Golden State Warriors]. They’re young, hungry, enjoy their jobs and really love each other. It just makes for a great situation.
We’ve noticed you complimenting Jada Paul (wife of L.A. Clippers point guard Chris Paul) on Instagram.
Oh yeah. I’m like girl you look good right now. (laughing)
It’s refreshing because we’re often led to believe the wives of professional athletes don’t like each other and that there’s a lot of cattiness between you all.
It’s a huge stigma that most of us are trying to change. I think the stereotype is that a lot of us don’t work, we don’t have anything going on, nobody has goals and that’s just not true. Everybody that I know has some sort of passion that they’re fulfilling and we’re all supportive of each other, and we’re all on the group text talking to each other. You know? It’s the complete opposite of what’s portrayed on television.
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We have to ask about the memes circulating online. Is it ever hurtful to see them?
It’s not hurtful. It doesn’t affect my personal life but it just doesn’t make sense to me. I wonder why people are so hateful sometimes. I just don’t get it. I want people to know these memes aren’t coming from me and I didn’t endorse them. I have a feeling whoever is making them is mostly men trying to pin women against each other and that’s something I don’t stand for especially with us Black women. I just wish we could support each other a little bit more. I want everybody to succeed.
What else is Ayesha Curry working on these days?
I want to talk about Glad and what they’re doing for Earth Month to prevent food waste. The average American family wastes about $2,200 a year on food which is a lot. There are ways to prolong the life of your food by using your freezer. You can freeze just about anything using their Freezer Wrap and Gladware containers. And especially through like my cookbook process, I was purchasing and using so much food, I wish I knew how to keep everything fresh earlier to save money and have ingredients on-hand to cook a dinner for my family after I was done with all the book stuff. It’s one of those things I wish I knew but now I do so I’m trying to inform others.
Bridgette Bartlett Royall (@BlkBridalBliss) is the founder of BlackBridalBliss.com.