“You have to throw the whole notion of a background check away: I know you’ve been homeless. You may have gone to prison. That’s all right with me,” says the ‘Top Chef’ star of his staffing approach, in partnership with L.A. organization Chrysalis, at his restaurants Maude and Gwen.

Published by The Hollywood Reporter at 6:30 AM PDT 7/17/2017 by Degen Pener

Before landing his current job as a runner at Gwen, Curtis Stone’s meat-centric year-old Hollywood hotspot, Steven Ransom, 34, struggled to find employment. “I had a record,” Ransom says. “You know how that goes.”

But at Gwen — and at Stone’s Beverly Hills restaurant, Maude — the chef, 41, also a star of reality shows including Top Chef Masters, has implemented a hiring policy that gives a second chance to those who have battled homelessness, incarceration and drug addiction. Job seekers aren’t summarily disqualified from consideration because of past mistakes. “You have to throw the whole notion of a background check away: I know you’ve been homeless. Now you may have gone to prison. That’s all right with me,” says Stone of his staffing approach, run in partnership with L.A. homeless organization Chrysalis.

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More news you could use: Chef Curtis Stone invited guests to attend an intimate luncheon at Gwen in honor of the clients he’s hired through Chrysalis!