Andy Hearnden talks on Andy Cooks: The Cook Book release

A successful chef who has amassed an online following of more than 12 million thanks to his videos shot from his Sunshine Coast home is releasing his first cookbook.

Sunshine Coast chef and online creator Andy Hearnden - known online as Andy Cooks - is releasing his first cookbook.

A successful Sunshine Coast chef and social media star is preparing to release his first cookbook after amassing a global following from his home cooking videos.

Andy Hearnden, 38, otherwise known as Andy Cooks, gained worldwide attention online after he began posting videos of himself in the kitchen in 2021.

Now, with more than 12 million followers combined across all his platforms, he has released his first cookbook.

Mr Hearnden, a New Zealand native who has cooked in restaurants around the world, said he was inspired to create the cookbook, after an influx of requests from his audience.

“I think it’s any chef’s dream to write a cookbook, so when the opportunity came up I jumped at it,” he said.

The book is based on the premise of “bringing people back to the table”, he said.

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He said having share food spread down a table was how he preferred to cook for friends and family.

“(It) allows me to join the fun instead of staying in the kitchen,” he said.

Some of Mr Hearnen’s popular recipes which have gone viral online have made it into the book including his fish and chips and chicken biryani.

He said the book is split into sections, including proteins, salads, sides, carbohydrates as well as breakfast and sandwiches.

Sunshine Coast chef and online creator Andy Hearnden. pictured with his partner Katelyn, is releasing his first cookbook.

News of the book’s release on social media sparked excitement from fans across the globe, a concept Mr Hearnden said was “pretty astonishing”.

“It’s hard to fathom until ... you get out in the world and people start recognising you ... and it kind of steps you back a bit (sic),” he said.

He said he was inspired to start making videos after he and his partner, Katelyn, lost their corporate jobs in Melbourne at the start of the pandemic.

“I was always a big consumer of content ... so I started making some videos and here we are now,” he said.

He said he always had ambitions of becoming a chef and had grown up in the kitchen.

“I was probably the only young boy in New Zealand in the 80s who all they wanted was one of those fake kitchens,” he said.

“I was always fascinated by food ... There was never any question in my head that that was the career I was going to pursue. I always said I was going to be a chef. As soon as I could I left school and went to chef school.”

The cook book, which is only available through Mr Hearnden’s website, is still in its pre-order stages, but Mr Hearnden said the first batch of orders should arrive in Australia by August.