Born and raised in Auckland, Hayden started cooking and baking from a very young age, “I grew up in a family that if we were hungry, we had to make something for ourselves.”

Growing up Hayden doesn’t remember having takeaways or convenience foods that often, they always cooked their meals. He was brought up eating everything from nose to tail which has contributed to his business idea, “I have such fond memories of eating ox tongue for dinner, kidneys and bacon, and tripe in white sauce.”

With a passion for cooking, Hayden left school at 17 to start as an apprentice chef and hasn’t looked back. Through his career as a chef, Hayden was constantly learning and discovering new things such as under-utilised sources of food which have helped him in creating his business, The Flying Rib.

The Flying Rib as the name suggests is all about wings and ribs, with a twist. Being passionate about nose to tail eating, and under-utilised ingredients, Hayden has created a menu with the classics, such as pork ribs and chicken wings, but is looking to expand the taste buds of Aucklanders with crispy salmon wings and turkey tails, and by highlighting current trends such as corn ribs. After trialing his ideas with friends and family, and getting great response, Hayden decided to take the plunge and develop his own venture.

Being a chef by trade, Hayden lacked the business knowledge and support to start his own business. He learnt about The Kitchen Project through Bertrand, one of our alumni, who explained how The Kitchen Project helped him launch his own business, which was exactly what Hayden needed. “Every part of the kitchen project has been awesome! So much information to absorb, but if I didn’t quite get everything at first, they were there to support me that much further and to elaborate on many lessons. This has been a huge help in giving myself the confidence to keep going with my idea. I think the process as a whole was a highlight because there was always something new to learn, or to further my understanding of this thing we call business, and also bounce ideas off my peers.”

Hayden’s vision is to see The Flying Rib as a bricks and mortar space in the community, sharing his food views and values with his customers. Hayden hopes to continuously develop his menu, keeping things new and fun, he’s currently selling at markets around Auckland, and does private catering.

You can follow The Flying Rib on Instagram and Facebook to find out where they’ll be!