Virgin River's Martin Henderson Has An Unexpected Talent In The Kitchen

Martin Henderson, better known as Jack Sheridan in the romantic drama "Virgin River," plays a character that owns a popular restaurant/bar in the titular small mountain town. However, as the resident suave ex-marine on the show, his talents align more with whipping up a pub-style sandwich. In real life, however, Henderson's culinary interests are a bit less brew haus and a dash more baker.

The actor has taken to Instagram to share his passion for bread, granola, and, we're guessing, the occasional cookie. In one clip, he even prepared a delicious-looking sourdough boule with none other than his on-screen love interest Alexandra Breckenridge, aka Mel Monroe. The duo got together on social media for a makeshift cooking show where they comically bake live before posting the clips for fans to enjoy. 

The close friends have even attempted to tackle Pavlova, a meringue-based dessert. In one Instagram video, Henderson can be heard saying, "Alex and I are very excited to bring you our very amateur-ish, inappropriate cooking show," while Breckenridge prepares to beat egg whites in the background. Interestingly, Pavlova reportedly hails from the Australia/New Zealand region, leading us to yet another fact you may not know about Henderson.

As American-as-it-gets, Jack Sheridan in "Virgin River" is actually played by a Kiwi. Martin Henderson was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Listening to his character in Netflix's version of the Robyn Carr books, you would never know it. But watching his cooking show with co-star Alexandra Breckenridge or listening to an interview with Henderson, you'll instantly hear his charming accent.

Henderson's hometown New Zealand community is where his acting career began at the young age of 13. Eventually, he moved to Australia, finding moderate success, before ending up in the United States (you may remember a much younger Henderson in the horror flick, "The Ring"). These days, Henderson lives in Los Angeles, though filming for "Virgin River" takes place in Vancouver. He does retreat to Great Barrier Island from time to time; most notably when the actor was recovering from Covid in 2022. 

Henderson shared a photo of him breaking up homemade granola while at his island retreat and promised another "culinary escapade" as soon as he could return home. Once back in the United States, the Netflix star resumed sharing his recipes with Breckenridge and the world. At his LA residence, you can glimpse Henderson's homey abode via his Instagram cooking demonstrations and the pics he posts of the fruits of his baking labor. His door-less open cupboards even boast color-coded dishware.

Mel and Jack's romance on "Virgin River" is purely fictional since the actors who play them are just friends in real life. Martin Henderson's co-star, Alexandra Breckenridge, frequently mentions her husband and kids during the pair's cooking adventures. However, you never hear Henderson talk about his family. In fact, in one video posted on Instagram, when Breckenridge questions his idea of what husbands are "supposed" to do for their wives, Henderson retorts, "I don't know, I've never been one." 

Long-time fans of the swoon-worthy Jack might be surprised to know that the actor has never been married. The star, known for playing romantic leading men on-screen, is rumored to have dated a lengthy list of high-profile individuals, such as Mexican model Aisha Mendez and even Demi Moore, following her split from Ashton Kutcher. 

But the perpetual bachelor has never got down on one knee, at least to our knowledge, which means he ingests a lot of bread and desserts himself (unless Henderson is sharing his bakes with family and friends, of course). We wonder, how does he keep ex-marine Jack Sheridan's six-pack abs with all those sourdough loaves in his kitchen?