Surfing chefs raise $150,000 at Byron dinner

Professional surfers joined a group of renowned chefs last week to deliver a sold out dinner that raised $150,000 for programs across Indonesia.

The SurfAid dinner was held at the Three Blue Ducks restaurant at the The Farm in Byron Bay, and featured SurfAid Ambassadors Tom Carroll, Occy and Felicity Palmateer swapping their surfboards for chopping boards.

The trio worked alongside renowned chefs including Darren Robertson (Three Blue Ducks, Byron Bay), Russell Blaikie (Must Winebar, Perth), Ben O’Donoghue (Billykart Kitchen, Brisbane), Steven Snow (Fins, Kingscliff), Ben Devlin (Paper Daisy, Cabarita), Giles Hohnen (Sumi Open Kitchen, Noosa), Brett Cameron (Pacific Club, Bondi), David Moyle (Longsong, Melbourne), Donovan Clayton (Jaaning Tree, Nambucca Heads) and Stuart Toon (Rocker, Bondi).

The record-breaking fundraiser helped bring the total funds raised to over half a million dollars since it was started in 2011 by 2017 SurfAid Humanitarian of the Year, Russell Blaikie.

‘This result truly demonstrates the power of giving back. Surfing Chefs fundraisers started with a bunch of my Margaret River Chef mates banding together to cook for a crowd, raising money for the important programs SurfAid conducts across the Indonesian Archipelago,’ Mr Blaikie said.

‘We’ve conducted eight events around Australia since 2011 and without a single exception, every chef involved has jumped on board with a passion and generosity that energises each event.

‘These chefs are at the top of their game in Australia, they are sensational cooks who love to share waves. They are so busy…they really don’t have the time to do these events, but they MAKE the time to be part of them, because they care.’

Mr Blaikie said the team at Three Blue Ducks, led by Darren Robertson went above and beyond the call of duty and jumped in to make something very special happen.
‘There was no better place on the planet to host Surfing Chefs for SurfAid,’ he said.