Why one stolen sandwich is a lasting lesson
Counter surfing is self-rewarding behaviour, which makes it unusually stubborn. Your dog does not need you to approve, praise or even notice; the cooling chicken, the butter dish and the crumbs along the hob pay him directly. Worse, the reward is unpredictable, and unpredictable rewards build the most persistent habits of all, the same reason a slot machine holds attention. A tall dog who can reach with a stretch learns the route fastest, but smaller dogs surf chairs, bins and open dishwasher doors just as happily. Until the counter stops paying entirely, training alone is competing with a jackpot, and the jackpot usually wins.
Starve the habit while you teach the alternative
Start with a ruthless clear-down: no food left on worktops, nothing defrosting on the side, the bin secured and the fruit bowl moved out of stretch range. Use a gate or closed door during meals and prep while the new behaviour is fragile, not as a punishment but as a way to prevent rehearsals you cannot reward your way past. Then pay the behaviour you want at a rate the counter never matched. Whenever your dog stands or lies on the kitchen floor while food is out, treats arrive at floor level, between his paws, so the floor itself becomes the interesting place to be.
Give him a mat, a boundary and a job
Place a mat just outside the busiest part of the kitchen and build a settle there in easy stages: reward stepping on it, then lying on it, then staying while you take one step away, then while you stir, chop and open the oven. Release him before he breaks the position so most repetitions end in success, and keep early sessions to a few minutes during calm prep rather than a full roast dinner. If he leaves the mat to investigate, walk him back without ceremony and lower the difficulty. Over time the mat becomes his default cooking-time station, and the boundary on the floor matters more to him than the smells above it.
Safety and the long tail of the habit
A surfing dog is not only stealing food; he can pull down a hot pan, reach cooked bones or onions, or drag a knife off the edge by its handle. Keep those hazards back from the front of the worktop even after the training improves, and be extra strict at parties and barbecues, when guests leave plates at nose height and supervision is thin. If your dog manages a theft of cooked bones, grapes, chocolate or anything cooked in rich fat, contact your vet for advice the same day rather than waiting for symptoms. Staying consistent is easiest when the rules live somewhere everyone can see them, and KinsLe does that through Care Teams, where the clear-counter rule and mat practice can be assigned and marked complete, so a housemate's unattended toast does not quietly retrain your dog.