How Ayesha Curry Keeps Her Head in the Game
You might have heard of Ayesha Curry. Yes, she’s married to the NBA’s golden boy, Stephen Curry, the point guard leading the Golden State Warriors to certain victory this playoff season, but Ayesha is an all-star entirely in her own right. Entrepreneur, restaurateur, Covergirl model and mother of two (with a third on the way), the 28-year-old is the kind of lady who makes us wonder how she manages so much, so effortlessly. In the past few years, Ayesha has managed to build her own mini-empire, inspired by her love of cooking. A passionate home chef, she officially entered the culinary arena in 2016 with her best-selling cookbook, The Seasoned Life, filled with favorite family recipes and the honest approachability of a young mom. That winning combination gave way to her own cooking show on the Food Network, Ayesha’s Homemade, the first two seasons of which were filmed in her own home kitchen. Handling home renovations and camera crews on top of preschool pickup and nap time proved to be difficult, but was a labor of love for the charming home chef.
“Preparing, cooking, serving and eating food brings people together and provides an expression of love,” explains Ayesha, who was raised between Toronto and North Carolina. “I share my love of food to inspire people. I love the pleasure food gives, both to others and myself.”
Spreading that love even further, she soon launched a meal kit delivery service à la Blue Apron, also named Homemade, with a focus on kid-friendly meals and a goal to make home cooking a more realistic possibility for busy parents like herself. Beyond sharing her passion for food, she’s a champion for the cause to end child hunger, acting as ambassador to the organization, No Kid Hungry. With PJ Brice, she also co-founded Cheeky, a line of kid-friendly paper goods and plasticware that further supports No Kid Hungry along with the food banks of Feeding America, donating a meal with every purchase. In addition to the adorable, cause-worthy paper plates and patterned lunch boxes, you can buy her line of fabulous-yet-tough cookware at Target, Walmart and Amazon.Ayesha’s reign is not only domestic. After mastering the arts of home cooking and entertaining, she embarked on another endeavor with the help of San Francisco famed chef and restaurateur, Michael Mina. “When I first met Ayesha, she mentioned that she was thinking about attending culinary school, but her schedule was going to make that very difficult,” explains Mina, who partnered with Ayesha to create a pop-up restaurant at his MINA Test Kitchen in San Francisco. A sweeping success, the duo soon launched International Smoke, a permanent outpost with a collaborative menu inspired by their individual culinary backgrounds and collective world travel, all with the goal of bringing people together. “We started out with a genuine friendship where we discussed our love of food and entertaining friends and family, and have been able to translate that passion into International Smoke,” Ayesha shares.For Ayesha, the restaurant launch was a culmination of a lifelong passion for cooking. “Many of my fondest memories revolve around food,” she explains. “Opening my restaurant is a dream I never thought I could have but now it has come true, and I am so very grateful and blessed!”And, in the months since, she’s only gaining speed. Acting as the face and equity-partner of Sonoma-based brand, Züpa Noma (a line of bottled organic, superfood soups), as well as serving as the new spokeswoman for Covergirl (the first chef on the beauty brand’s roster of models, actors and musicians), her jam-packed professional schedule warrants hardly any down-time.
But if you ask her what she enjoys most when she has a moment to herself, amidst the millions of projects, photoshoots and television appearances, it all comes down to family.
“Spending quality time with them is always a top priority,” explains the mother of Riley and Ryan, who occupy her thoughts throughout every project and work trip. “There is no formula for finding a balance between having a career, being a wife and a mother. ‘Mom guilt’ is real, but you just do your best to be present and make sure your kids always feel supported. When I’m on the road and missing home, I find some resolve in the fact that I’m setting a strong example for my kids, showing them that with enough hard work and perseverance, they’re capable of anything.” Her role as supermom is bolstered by a grounded, honest, playful relationship with her husband (whom she met as a teenager in North Carolina) and their ability to prioritize each other despite their chaotic schedules and various personal projects. “Having a strong husband that supports me in every way is amazing. Our balance is always making time for each other,” she says. “Just because you’re a mom or have a career doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time to still ‘date’ and spend time together.”Talk about #relationshipgoals. But as all busy women know, “me time” is essential, even to Ayesha Curry. She laughs as she admits, “If I can sneak in a little nap for myself every once in a while, that's a plus!” *Photo Credit: Jon Regal Studio for US Weekly.
