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So I’ve been a chef for around about ten years, but I’ve been cooking for three years
prior to that, working in kitchens as a kitchen hand, working my way up through that –
through different sections – before I trained to be a qualified chef.
What got me into it was that I started kitchen handing so I could be by the beach. I applied
– wrote letters – to restaurants around the Coromandel, saying that I wanted to be
a chef one day, that I’d like to get into the industry as a kitchen hand and was willing
to work my way up. Shells Restaurant, where I’m working now, was the only place that
replied to my letter. So I moved over and started surfing and cooking.
If you want to be a chef, my biggest suggestion would be to start from the bottom and be willing
to work towards it – not go into it thinking you’re going to start straight at the top
you’re not. A lot of chefs that go through polytechs these days don’t have the prior
experience like I did, working three years before I got trained. Go out and get some
experience before you do your training so you can find out whether it’s what you want
to do.
Chefing can be a lifestyle; I work hard for part of the year over the busy season, then
the rest of the year I get to enjoy myself doing my pastimes. Chefing allows me to do
that, because I get free days. I start in the winter at three in the afternoon, so I
get plenty of time to go out surfing, diving, fishing – whatever I want to do.
The best bit about being a chef is being creative. The day-to-day stuff can get a bit tedious,
but [it’s about] coming up with specials, doing special dishes for certain functions,
even having the skills to create something awesome for friends at home.