Star Kitchen: Brian Boitano

We're not sure what made Brian Boitano more famous — his phenomenal success on the ice, or a single line from a South Park cartoon: "What would Brian Boitano do?" The line turned into a song; Brian Boitano turned into a cult icon.

When you step inside his San Francisco kitchen, Brian's latest career move makes sense: Here's a guy who's serious about cooking. Not too serious, mind you — he has gone grocery shopping in an Elvis costume — but he's been teaching himself to cook for about 15 years, and he entertains constantly.

Brian grows rosemary, oregano, sage and other herbs outside these windows overlooking his private courtyard. He snips mint and verbena and steeps them in hot water for a quick herbal tea.

Brian keeps fruit out as a centerpiece, but if he buys too much, it goes bad. The solution: supplementing actual produce with fake pears. "A friend who's a foodie sat here thinking they were real and twisted one of the stems right off!"

"I wanted a country-in-the-city look, so I went with these tiles," Brian says. The only downside is that they're uneven, so wineglasses can tip when you set them on the counter. "I'd choose the tiles again, though."

This classic Wedgewood oven with a griddle in the middle was in the house when Brian bought it, and he renovated the kitchen around it. "There's only one guy in San Francisco who can service this," he says. "I just love it. I'm wondering what I'll do if I ever have to replace it."