Hardships, communication, and balance in the kitchen

Great food and serving others make cooking such a valuable skill, and multi-tasking is a must.

Anyone who thinks it is easy you watch too much Masterchef and are in love with the art, not the process; there is a massive difference between the realities of tv and real life in a commercial kitchen.

It's something only the crazy can handle, and even then, we break down regularly; we rely on our fellow kitchen staff as a source of education, comfort assurance, and to give us a kick up the ass when we fuck things up. They also become your family when you spend 12 hours plus a day with these people; you have no choice but to learn to love them and accept them. A sad and unorganised kitchen is the definition of dysfunctional and depressing on every level.

It takes years to adapt to this and understand why we go through this and why we put up with it; our craft's sacrifice is immense. It would be best if we learned not to take to heart.

In the current world of cooking, this is crucial to survival because one day you will work in a kitchen that is not happy and not fun, but your bills and needs don't give a shit about your feelings; taking care of number 1 should always be the focus.

There are many benefits to our craft; some are unknown or unacknowledged by many in the industry.

Chefs generally like to think of themselves as the crazy kid in the classroom, the black sheep whos best unseen and left to create magic behind the scenes, in some cases, that is genuine. It's a personal preference. Still, we also limit ourselves to a great degree. We don't gain much financially for our skills and understanding worth is important.

I dare you to find me another human who could cut off the top of his finger, tape it up, burn his hands repeatedly, then still carry out a service for 200 people on a Saturday night without skipping a beat. Call me crazy, but I think those types of people are some of the most hardened souls on this planet, and I'm proud to be one of them.

The communication skills during stress, identifying when someone is in the weeds and needs a bit of help, and the ability to push through the sometimes silly demands asked of us is what makes us so unique.

Not many can handle that kind of heat and pressure; we are a special breed of human and resilience and consistency is our best friend during the challenging moments and trust me there's many.

You also have to be ready to either speak up, walk out, or accept the fact you are going to get robbed of some of your benefits work excessive overtime to the point you put in the hours of close to two full-time jobs for the pay of 38 hours.

Add living expenses and other costs. Yeah, your left with nothing but the compliment you got on your dish on Friday night or the excellent job the sous chef said to you in passing; after finally completing a good service, it's rough on many levels.

It also leads to issues with front of house who, same as us, take their position for granted.

Amongst the riff-raff, I have met many career-orientated front of house who dedicate the same passion as any chef, put in the same time and effort into their craft, and cope with all the same struggles the chefs.

But in Australia, this is few and far between; if you have one in your restaurant, hold on to them as long as you can; they a worth more than gold.

We have all made a mistake in our career and will do so again, but any chef or front-of-house artist knows the importance of balance and harmony in our creations; the same goes when communicating with fellow workers.

We all need to be better in some way, learn when to speak from authority, when to be a sponge, and when to let things go; dissolving the ego is one of the much-needed skills we need in our industry if we want to change in any of these areas.

Respecting others' life missions, passions, and showing compassion will improve any restaurant. It will enable us as artists to give the customers the best experience possible at the end of the day. Creating a happy environment for the customers is a great experience and that is what it's all about.

We deserve to create the same for ourselves; it starts with you.