Surfing The Menu

Take two knockabout Aussie chefs, allow them to ignite as head chefs in two of London’s top restaurants, remove them from the heat and allow to rest, place into a four-wheel-drive jeep, add a touch of surfing, set them off on a discovery tour of Australia’s great scenery, characters and fresh produce and you have the recipe for Surfing the Menu – a brand new food, travel and adventure series.

Surfing the Menu features Ben O’Donoghue, star of BBC’s The Best and formally Head Chef at Montes in Knightsbridge, who teams up with fellow Aussie and fellow surfer, Curtis Stone, regular guest on BBC 2’s, Saturday Kitchen, and UK Food’s, Good Food Live, and until recently, Head Chef at Marco Pierre White’s London restaurant, Quo Vadis.

Looking to rediscover the roots of their culinary successes and uncovering new trends and products back home, Ben and Curtis travel the length and breadth of Australia, meet remarkable characters and discover unusual and unique new produce and cook in some of the most spectacular locations in the world.

The series is set in the pearling town of Broome, the rock lobster coral islands of the Abrohlos, a Spanish monastery town of New Norcia in the middle of the Australia wheat plains, the world-beating wine and surfing region of Margaret River, the diversity and natural beauty of world-heritage Tasmania, the surf coast and Benalla Peninsula in Victoria, the lush and diverse Hunter Valley famous for its wines, and finally Byron Bay, where the rainforest meets the sea.

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Ben ODonoghue

Ben O’ Donoghue started his career working in a number of top-class Australian restaurants including Tribeca in Sydney and Jessicas in Perth before moving to London.

For four years, he worked at The River Café before joining his best mate Jamie Oliver at the exclusive Monte’s Club as head chef. He now heads up the kitchen at the trendy Atlantic Bar and Grill.

Ben has worked with Jamie as a consultant food stylist as well as assisting him with various outside catering functions, including cooking for Tony Blair and the Italian Prime Minister.

In addition to his work on Surfing the Menu, Ben co-hosts the television series The Best, and has appeared on Saturday Kitchen (2002) and Planet Food (2001).

In his time off, Ben enjoys surfing and pilates.

Curtis Stone

Melbourne-born Curtis Stone was studying his Bachelor of Business before deciding his heart was actually in food. Inspired by a short stint in a restaurant kitchen, he began cooking at The Savoy Hotel.

With family ties in the UK, Curtis arrived in Europe to travel but found himself working with Marco Pierre White at The Café Royal and Mirabelle. He went on to become head chef at Marco’s Quo Vadis, receiving critical acclaim before moving to the exclusive Restaurant 301.

No stranger to television, Curtis has appeared in a number of cooking programs in the UK, including Dinner in a Box, Good Food Live and Saturday Kitchen.

Curtis loves sharing good food with good friends.

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