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Born and raised in Thunder Bay, ON, Hayden’s appreciation for food and drink came naturally. Growing up hunting, fishing, foraging and feasting gave the 33-year-old Culinary Institute of Canada graduate an appreciation for great food and hospitality.

At the age of 15, Hayden’s first foray into professional cooking came in the form of a dishwashing job. After graduating high school and while studying at CIC, Hayden seized an opportunity to work at Petraia Agritourismo (Tuscany, Italy) under chef and author Susan Mckenna Grant, combined with a stage at Machelleria Cecchinni, (Tuscany, Italy) under famed Italian butcher Dario Cecchinni.

Upon his graduation, Hayden made it his goal to travel while cooking and so began work aboard the Antarctic expedition ship Akademik Ioffe. After his stint at the bottom of the world, Hayden spent time working at Treadwell Cuisine (Niagara Region), as well as stages at Bistro Vue (Melbourne, Australia), Blue Hill (New York, New York), Husk (Charleston, South Carolina) and Parts and Labour (Toronto,Ontario). Hayden has been working with Carl and Ryan since 2010 when the team was at Marben Restaurant.

He is now the Executive Chef at Richmond Station restaurant in Toronto, ON. Having won an episode of Chopped Canada, Hayden has found competition quite rewarding as well. Placing runner up at the inaugural San Pellegrino Young Chef competition and a finalist for both the Hawksworth Scholarship and Food Network Canada’s Top Chef Canada. Hayden’s technique driven and ingredient focused style of cooking has been influenced by the teachings of some of the most profiled farm to table chefs and authors. “Success in cuisine is the combination of great relationships and great ingredients”.