Brooke Burke Is Adding Some Magic to Her Life

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A GOOD COOK? I think so, yeah. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I love to cook. I love to home-chef. It’s always been a dream of mine to go to culinary school,

and I’ve been so busy raising my family that I haven’t done that yet. But it’s on my dream list. I love a good bucket list. Culinary school is a big one. I love time in the kitchen, and I

think that my children know what home smells like. They know what love tastes like, and I think that family dinners are really important to my family. I just did a show with Curtis Stone on

his ranch in Malibu [_Travel, Cook, Repeat with Curtis Stone_], and we made a couple of incredible dishes. Before cohosting _Dancing With the Stars_ for seven seasons, you won the

competition as a contestant [in 2008]. Were you surprised when you won? Never thought it was possible, wasn’t my intention. I hoped to stick around for a few weeks. It was one of the most

incredible experiences of my life because on that show you discover so much: fear, accomplishments, body language, choreography. You really learn how to show up, how to learn something new,

how to commit, how to pull it together, how to perform. It was a tremendous commitment, because I was raising four children. But it was also an invaluable accomplishment because I don’t

think I’ve ever worked harder at anything. It sounds silly — it’s a dance competition, you’re competing for a mirror ball. There were many, many life lessons on that show, that’s for sure.

YOU’RE ALSO KNOWN FOR YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS BUSINESS, BROOKE BURKE BODY. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON AGING AND PLASTIC SURGERY? It’s very subjective. I would like for people to look more

like themselves and less like each other, to be honest. I was married to a plastic surgeon in my 30s, so I fully understand the value of the decision-making process, and I think that’s more

important than the actual procedure. I think that a woman should find her confidence from the inside out. Women, men should be free to do whatever they need to do to give them that body

confidence. But I do think that beauty is a feeling and an essence that comes from within. I like to believe in aging gracefully. We all need to take care of ourselves.