Surfing the Menu is back with two familiar faces
Hayden Quinn and Dan Churchill, both hail from the Northern Beaches, growing up around wind and waves. With their fuss-free approach to cooking, they were the standout choice to re-launch Surfing the Menu: Next Generation. The laid-back cooking show originally aired from 2003-2006 and catapulted the careers of Curtis Stone and Ben O’Donoghue, where the two young guys cooked their way around the most picturesque locations in Australia.
Quinn and Churchill bonded well off-camera and the boys believe their natural friendship shines through on-screen.
"We have a great relationship off-camera and basically it just transfers," Quinn told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The cooks have had their share of drama, a kite-surfing session in Noosa went haywire, marking their first episode on a 14,000 km journey across Australia.
“It was basically a big boy’s road trip,” said the 29-year-old, speaking with the Daily Telegraph. “It’s one of those dream jobs you only get once in a lifetime to surf and travel and meet new people and create amazing food.”
Indeed, the duo canvassed the countryside in an old Volkswagen they named ‘Gigi’.
Churchill, the creator of the Dude Food cooking philosophy who is currently attempting to crack the lucrative US food market, said of his experience filming the show. “Every single day I woke up super excited with a different understanding for my joy. Exmouth, as I said, it has 50,000 humpback whales a year compared to 15,000 on the east coast.” He told the Western Australian.
The twenty-something chefs are now also ambassadors for Tourism Australia, joining Hollywood heavy-weight Chris Hemsworth, another keen surfer, and cake-baker.
