Cook and television host Hayden Quinn has blazed a successful career since he first appeared on MasterChef. Now the ingredients are just right for his next stage of life, he tells Tamara Spray.
Whether its whipping up a self-saucing pudding among olive groves in Tasmania or creating a chicken yakitori on the sand at Manly’s harbourside, foodie and television host Hayden Quinn has perfected the art of cooking in the great outdoors.
“I always say to people, if I can cook this on a beach on a tiny little barbecue with a chopping board on my knees, then you’re definitely going to be able to do it at home,” Hayden says. His TV show, Taste of Australia with Hayden Quinn, sees him travel to destinations across the nation, meeting farmers and producers, and crafting recipes using locally-sourced produce – from Uluru to Tasmania, and at home on the Northern Beaches.
“That’s always the goal for me, to be able to create recipes that look and taste good, that are healthy for you, but at the same time you want to click on the recipe, give it a go yourself and try it at home.”
Hayden, 39, become a familiar face when the then Lifeguard competed on season three of the reality TV series MasterChef, in 2011, before an audience of 2.6 million viewers. “That was right in the middle of MasterChef mania, so it was really cool,” he says.
Having come to the show with a degree in marine biology from UTS, a job as a Lifeguard and a passion for cooking and sharing food, Hayden – who has no formal cooking qualifications – worked hard to make the most of the opportunities offered beyond MasterChef. He returned to the show in 2012 for MasterChef All-Stars, and then again in 2020 for MasterChef Back to Win.
“People would say, ‘You go on MasterChef and you get (instant success)’…if that was the case there’d be hundreds of people with TV shows and cookbooks and restaurants. “You really have to work for it, you have to have the passion, the want, the will and the drive to actually pull something off.”
The reality TV star appeared on MasterChef in 2011. Now he cooks in the great outdoors on Taste of Australia with Hayden Quinn
Taste of Australia with Hayden Quinn is in its eighth season with 85 episodes filmed. He works with a tight-knit team of six people to develop, write and produce the series, on which he is executive producer alongside long-time friend Ashton Ward.
He describes his cooking as ‘home style barbecue’ and ‘entertainment style,’ with fresh flavours a must – nothing ‘too fancy.’ Hayden lists famous food presenters Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver as having inspired his dishes early in his career.
“A big thing for me is wanting to be able to cook recipes and use ingredients that everyday Aussies can get their hands on, no matter where they live, and recreate the same dish at home,” he says.
When I ask what comes first in planning an episode – the recipe, the location or the produce – Hayden tells me it varies. “It’s getting everything to align in a way that is suitable for the location, the food, and the people that we’re cooking for at that time of year.
“I have a recipe matrix which is a detailed spreadsheet showing every season that we’ve done, every recipe that we’ve done,” Hayden says. “People think sometimes, especially when it comes to food and media, ‘Oh, you just come up with it on the spot, it’s really easy,’ but it’s really thought out and quite structured, so I don’t do the same thing twice.”
His debut episode in season one was filmed on his beloved Northern Beaches in 2020. It’s fitting for the surfer who grew up in Dee Why. A former St Augustine’s College student, Hayden had his first after-school job at Woolworths – a full circle moment as he has recently partnered with Woolworths for their collectible Fissler cookware campaign.
A career in food was not in the plan for Hayden. While he is now a successful food writer and magazine contributor, having authoured his own recipe book, Dish It Up – as a teenager cooking was a necessity to fuel his appetite. A keen surfer and footy player, he was always hungry. “My mum (Jo-Anne) was a really good cook,” he says. “Everyone says that about their mum, but my mum was also a home economist and taught cookery at TAFE.
“So we always had great food, really good recipes. Mum was the queen of creating something from nothing and that’s a skill I’ve definitely learned from her.
“I was always in the kitchen. I was really intrigued and interested by how everything came together and different flavours. But I was also, as a young boy, constantly hungry. So I think being able to feed myself was a big part of my love for cooking!”
Food and family went hand-in-hand at the Quinn household, with Hayden adding that sitting around the table, communing over food was a ‘big part of growing up for us.’
Hayden ventures across Australia, visiting places like the Blue Fattoria farm near Casino, NSW (right) and Uluru (left)
He and his two younger sisters, Erin and Madison, are close, particularly as the family faced challenges growing up. Madison’s battle with leukemia at the age of five saw Hayden and his family spending a lot of time at the Children’s Hospital in Randwick. “We spent a lot of time as siblings in the Starlight room,” he recalls. “It’s basically a doctor-free zone, a sickness-free zone.”
It inspired Hayden to become an ambassador for the Starlight Foundation 15 years ago, working to raise funds and awareness for the charity.
The cook is an ambassador for the Starlight Foundation
Hayden and Jax’s latest creation, newborn Rose (right), is a joyful addition to their lives, which includes dog, Peanut (below)
He is also an ambassador with the LifeChanger Foundation, which works with children aged five to 12 years. “It’s basically about providing good role models for students looking for someone to reach out to. I always think, growing up, I was very fortunate. I had a wonderful family, and then I had the surf club, football. I had all these positive role models around me, people that were always willing to lift you up and take you to the next level. Unfortunately, there are lots of kids in our society that don’t have that.”
Hayden juggles his television show and charity work with his other business interests – he’s co-owner of both The Cube Gym, and photography and film space, Studio Maybe, both based in Brookvale. However his schedule has recently cleared with his wife, Jax giving birth to their first child, Rose.
Speaking before her arrival, Hayden reflected that he and Jax were at the right stage of life to be parents. “Mentally, we’re nice and solid. Physically, we’re both strong and ready. We’re at a point – obviously I’m young but I’m not the youngest dad going around – but we’ve both done things that we’re proud and happy with, and it’s a great time to be able to have a baby.”
Hayden says life sees him pinching himself some days, particularly when he is on the road with the Taste of Australia team. “It’s pretty awesome to be doing the show with… some of my best friends. It doesn’t feel like work necessarily. To do what we do, we’re very fortunate, but you have to work hard to get to that point.
“If it wasn’t for MasterChef, I wouldn’t be doing what I am today, that’s for sure. I’d still be doing something cool and I’d be happy, but this has opened my world up to so many possibilities.”
See Taste of Australia with Hayden Quinn on SBS On Demand and 7Plus.
