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Lifestyle

How would you like your lifestyle to look?

Now could be your time to think about it.

During the days I was working every hour in the day all I could think about was what I could do if only I had more time. I would read novels, go out to dinner with my friends, go for a pint with a mate, start cycling etc etc etc.

Ring any bells?

So at the moment we are in strange times and you have been handed on a plate that time you craved, but… you have huge restrictions as to how you can use it?!

For example looking back at my list, the novels is all I could really start doing. However this time could be a great time to reflect, a great time to get to grips with what is important to you.

I’ve already talked about work / life balance. It should be agiven but it is still something we have to fight for. This time gives you the time to think about…

How would a social life look for you?

The things you dream of when you’re in the middle of service. Dinner with friends? Time and energy to ride a bike?

What makes you feel good?

What you want to fight for?

This reflection is important I think. I burnt out from such a job that gave me no balance about 7 years ago. I didn’t think about what was happening and I actually suffered a lot of anxiety from having all this extra time and no idea what to do with it.

In essence I craved going back to that life.

That’s not balance.

But it takes work to make such a huge lifestyle change. Those friends you used to hang out with on a Friday night have no doubt moved on. You wouldn’t fall straight back in.

But over time I have found what a life balance is for me. Its taken to this day. I enjoy slowing down. I enjoy running, I enjoy practicing and studying yoga. I enjoy cooking, eating and drinking with loved ones.


Why you want to fight for it?

This is so important and for you maybe needs to come before the what. For me I knew that a life so far out of balance was simply unsustainable. I had myself in my 40’s or 50’s doing the same thing. I also knew there had to be more to life. I knew I needed change. For you it could be any number of reasons. Your family? Your mental and physical health?

How you are going to fight for it?

Here’ s the big one. It is going take some serious courage to see these changes. As I said above, I struggled, I really struggled.

Firstly.

The first step is to commit to the change. Mean it.

Secondly.

What do you need from your work life to make this happen? Can your current job accommodate your dreams? Can you speak with managers or whoever is going to make this happen?

Thirdly.

You’ve done it. You’ve made the change. Be ready to know that its not going to be as easy as you thought. More space means more time to think. Its so important to take things slowly, be non judgemental or yourself.

As ever, I don’t have the answers fro you. I do however have a lot of experience of thinking about these questions. I still am. I have never found the balance of having a healthy social life. So we are all in this together. Thinking and improving our lives together.

Namaste.

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Your Meditation

A big daunting term? It doesn’t need to be.

Meditation is a broad term that has many meanings to different cultures and religions and is carried out in a multitude of different ways.

If you googled it now you would get many different definitions for what it means to meditate. Varying from enlightenment to changing the way your mind works.

What is Meditation?

It is important to choose your own definition for what you would like to achieve meditating. For me it is:

“To create a space to be connected with my true self, my true self not associated to stress or worry”

I like to strip back the term. Instead of setting out time to meditate, simply set out time to sit still.

How do you meditate?

You will find a huge amount of different techniques for how to meditate. For some this is great, choice is of course one of the great privileges of the internet but for me it becomes a little overwhelming. How do I choose? Which is right for me?

Traditionally most meditation techniques all require you to sit comfortably in a seated position and bring your attention inwards focusing on your body and your breathe. You then sit in this space for a set amount of time bring your attention back to your breathe or focus point each time you have a thought.

Like many I started with Headspace a few years back. The worldwide app has brought meditation to the masses. To keep it fresh however there are a huge number of different courses you can do for a technique that I think should be left much more simple.

Challenges of meditation?

When I spent time in India one thing I was doing was meditating every morning. To meditate fully you need be in a comfortable seated position, cross legged on a mat or cushion. This enables your body to stay alert. If you are supported in your seated position you mind can become too relaxed and you could sleep.

I’m afraid as a chef this will probably be incredibly difficult. When I started I could sit cross legged for about 2 minutes before my middle back, hips or groin screamed at me to get up. This is very normal and not something that should stop you.

Asana, the movement part of yoga which we are all familiar with is the way you stretch and strengthen your body to be able to sit cross legged and meditate.

I am in two minds as to whether or we call the monkey mind a challenge to meditation. It’s what we are looking to calm and control using meditation.

Finding your meditation?

A teacher of mine recently gave me a different perspective on meditation. Meditation simply doesn’t have to be this traditional way. For some it is great but its not for everyone.

We meditate whenever we are consciously taking control of our thoughts using focus.

For you, when do you feel you have control of your thoughts, your monkey mind? It is this time you can cultivate. Expand on. To meditate.

It could be…

Brilliantly for us… when you cook? Cooking is a great meditation. Next time you are kneading bread or stirring a risotto simply focus your mind on your breathe, or on the job at hand. If you have a thought, acknowledge it and then let it go. Don’t judge yourself (keep up your Ahimsa practice – see my post on Ahimsa).

or is meditation for you when you are in the bath, whilst on a walk, whilst running or whilst doing a yoga class?

So, don’t be overwhelmed by the term. Just appreciate the benefits and give it a go.

For me I have always found that the more I meditate the more I can take this calmer mind into life. The stresses of life or the stresses of the kitchen.

If you would like to chat about how you could benefit from meditation drop me a message and we’ll have a chat, and if you have other ways that you think you meditate then please share.

Id love to hear from you.

Namaste

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Reflect

The most unique times for our industry.

Its time to reflect.

I’ve spent the last week thinking about what I could say. I’ve been speaking relentlessly about how we need reform in the hospitality industry and now for the time being there is no hospitality industry.

We are all no doubt in very different situations. We need to put our loved ones first. We need to look out for our colleagues.

We need to get our house in order.

This is where my wonderful friends at the Chefs Union come in. Brian and the whole team are working relentlessly to make sure everyone is looked after and safe. There are links here from my site. Please take a look

Then my friends we need to accept where we are and reflect on our lives, reflect on what is important and be kind to ourselves and the others around us (from a distance of course).

Acceptance is tough. But its is always got to be the first stage. This will end. We will all return to our jobs. To our kitchens. To our lives.

Reflection is a magical and important thing we should all try to do.

In all my years in the kitchen I’ve never really found that time.

That time is now. Its time to reflect simply on what is important to you. This has the potential to be life changing for you in such a positive way. A real chance to stop and breathe. Something almost every chef I have ever spoken to has been asking for. Its here and we don’t have any choice but to embrace it.

This is my reflection on what is happening. I believe that an entire industry needed a rest. A reset. It is under the saddest of terms but chefs we have to accept and reflect so that when things return to normal we are all stronger, we all know what is important to us and we all have to mental space to love ourselves and each other.

Stay safe everyone.

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Ahimsa

Following on from talking about no fear in the kitchen I want to talk about how yoga philosophy can be applied to how we carry ourselves. How we act. How we can be good to ourselves and good to the others around us and in the kitchens we share.

Patanjali wrote verses that put all theories into one place. A document. A manual yogis could follow going forward.

He defined Yoga as having 8 limbs. They vary from how we act, to how we breathe, how we develop until we find the space to meditate and reach enlightenment.

https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/the-eight-limbs

The first limb is called the Yamas ; A Yama is your attitude towards others and the world around you. It’s these Yamas I think that can be applied to how we work in the kitchen as well as how we act in life.

Yama #1 is Ahimsa – Non-Violence

Ahimsa is a bit of corker when it comes to talking about the professional kitchen. Ahimsa translates into English as non violence. I’m sure this brings you an imagine of streaming chefs wielding knives and screaming at kitchen porters.

Violence starts in the mind. The thought trigger from the stress factor or the simple dislike of something. To help with non violence in the kitchen we need to be aware of these violent thoughts in our mind.

This violence towards others could come out in my forms. Physical violence is an outlet but at least this one is on the decline, laws if nothing else are in place to help here.

It includes

  • ANY physical violence.
  • Name calling.
  • Banter which is very clearly at the expense of others. Any form of mob behavior.
  • Gossip.
  • Putting undue pressure onto other chefs in your kitchen
  • Belittling chefs to make yourself feel stronger

I could go on and on and I am sure we have all seen it.

By cultivating Ahimsa in ourselves we develop respect from each other, the team we work with in the kitchen.

A big part of Ahimsa is non-judgement. This is a big statement and something I have spent some time considering.

Judging others is violence.

Do you judge the chefs under us for not being able to achieve something? Do we judge our peers and bosses for their behavior?

Letting go of this judgement has a huge effect on your mental health and it leads onto how I have found Ahimsa help me in the kitchen. In a space of non-judgment compassion fills the gap. Compassion in the kitchen is a game changer! We are all having a hard day. We can all cultivate Ahimsa within ourselves by being compassionate.

In the past like most I have judged others in the kitchen. I judged my head chefs and my managers for their behaviors. I would get stuck in this cycle. It never helped. Over the past years I let go of this and it felt like a huge weight lifting. By not judging others I could focus more on myself and my own behavior. The bit I could actually change.

From a benefits of Ahimsa point of view, I believe I have always acted in a non violent way towards the chefs that are working for me. This comes fairly naturally, I think I can safely say Im a gentle sole but during difficult times this has still taken cultivation. I have found that this style of management has meant that I have helped chefs to be their best selves. I’m very proud of that.

Now, the second half of Ahimsa is non-violence to ourselves. This is actually a lot harder.

Do you judge yourself even more than you judge others?

Do you violent towards yourself? For how much you got done? How much you achieved or didn’t achieve? Does this judgement help you?

I do. I always have. This takes a lot more work but has even more benefit. Keeping a positive outlook during difficult times. Are you grateful for what you do have?

The yoga mat offers this wonderful place for non-violence. Its my place to pro-actively cultivate Ahimsa.

I’ll meet you there.

Namaste.

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Space

Happy 2020 everyone !

I’ve been away for while, away from the kitchen, away from social media, away from the western world. I needed a break. I knew that and I was fortunate enough to be able to take it.

In November I traveled to India to complete my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training certificate. A wonderful experience and a huge step in my personal growth and development.

What have a learnt?

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1)

Space is good for my soul.

I learnt it is vital to give yourself some space from the professional kitchen. I’ve always believed it, now I know it. I understand it might not be that simple in a world of family and mortgages but I think it should be a very serious consideration when moving up through the career ladder as a chef. A holiday isn’t a holiday when you are the captain of a kitchen. Your mind is always still wondering and your phone might still be ringing.

Take a break between jobs if you can. Give your mind some space, to come back to your true self, not only the self who is running a kitchen.

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2)

I really love to cook.

I went about 6 weeks without cooking a single thing, and I really missed it. I think the best way to know whether you want to cook all the time is to stop cooking and see how you feel. If you feel relieved and like you never want to cook again then id say there is a message there.

For me I was desperate to cook something. I learnt cooking is meant to be a part of my life.

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3)

A yogic lifestyle is the one for me.

I learnt more than just how to teach an asana class. I learnt about philosophy, diet and lifestyle. I learnt that we need to look after our body, mind and spirit, the by doing this we can understand ourselves and live in true balance

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I learnt that I am to bring Yoga into both my cooking, my chefing and into cookinginmind.com.

I hope you are all have a wonderfully peaceful start to 2020.

X

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Yoga

This morning I am traveling to Goa to do my 200 hour yoga teacher training.

This is post 5 that I’ve written to talk about that, without posting. I’ve written even more posts about yoga, none of which have ever seen the light of day. To say as a chef that I’m heading out of comfort zone would be an absolute understatement…

Yoga has become a big part of my life and a big part of where I am planning to take Cooking In Mind.

I found Yoga about 18 months ago but the last 6 months or so I have really taken it to my heart. I have always enjoyed running. When the busy summer season started this year I began running as an outlet for that stress, but found that it was pushing me too hard physically. I replaced this with a strong, regular yoga practice.

It was perfect. It gave me that release of stress and gave me space from the stresses of the kitchen but actually gave me even more. It relieved the tension in my shoulders, a problem I always suffer from when I work too much. My physical health never really suffered in the way it has in the past.

On top of that, I was learning breathing exercises which I started to find that I could use when anxiety hit. I have a memory I’ll never forget when one of the chefs working with me and I did a simple 3 part breathing exercise when we were under extreme pressure. The simple process of focusing on breathing through the belly, the ribs, the throat and then out again completely changed my mental state. This was I now know partly because I was giving my blood some oxygen and partly because I was stopping the snowball of negative thoughts.

I really believe yoga can offer something to everyone in the hospitality industry. Like myself, I know a number of chefs yoga has helped and I can see so many more. I would like to see businesses encouraging staff to try it as well as larger businesses running their own yoga classes for staff to attend. If it works for google, why cant it work for us.

If you’re interested and would like any advise as to how you could get into yoga, drop me a message. Otherwise if you’re in Ireland check out the Himalaya Yoga Valley Centre in Cork.

Home

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No Fear

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I think is the biggest message for managing chefs in the kitchen.

 

I realised I had it when having a conversation about it earlier this week and my blood began to boil.

 

Fear.

 

#nofearinthekitchen

 

There is still, in 2019 a culture of fear. Chefs are going into the kitchen feeling scared. Scared of the behavior of their boss, Scared to make a mistake. Scared to get hurt. Scared to be abused.

 

For World Mental Health Day I would love to start a little ball rolling. To have the conversation about how there is still a culture of fear and how we are going to STOP IT. To do that I want to talk about what we replace it with. Inspiration.

 

Why is there a culture of fear?

 

Well, I think it is because in Paris and London 100 years ago the culture of the kitchen was bloody intense. Everyone had an exact role and no mistake could be made. Chefs realised that like in the army perhaps that no mistakes would happen if fear was high enough. It makes sense to an extent. In the moment I think you’d be more likely to stay focused and give it all if you are flooded with fear. You’re in flight or fight.

 

Why does it still exist?

 

Because as a commis chef you learn that this is how it is done. So, as you go up through the ranks you manage in the way you were managed.

 

Why does it need to stop?

 

Because its irresponsible. We have a responsibility to look after the people who work for us.

 

Also, you will never get the best from someone who is scared. You’ll get a lot sure but not the best. People work to rule rather than strive to achieve more. You’ll also find staff turnover to be a lot higher in such kitchens.

 

What can we do instead?

 

Well, I think I’ve always got 110% from the chefs who work for me. I am sure that no chef that has worked for me has ever been scared.

 

Inspire people to achieve good things rather than focusing on the consequences of things going wrong. We all know those consequences anyway, no need to be drilling them in.

 

Why do this?

 

Its simple really. The legacy from this is that over time all new chefs will learn to be inspirational rather than militant. Sounds good doesn’t it? Which would you choose to be?

 

From a business point of view your staff turnover will lower and you will get the pick of the better chefs as soon chefs will only be choosing to work in the kitchens where you know you’ll be treated right. I think that’s happening already.

 

What can you do?

 

Be sure that you are focusing or your boss is focusing on the positive feeling of success rather than the negative consequence of failure.

 

If this has hit a nerve with you and you agree with the message then please share using the hashtag #nofearinthekitchen, tag me so I can see, that’s what its all about for me.

 

Until next time.

x

 

 

 

 

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Lean Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Cooking in mind is getting real.

I start cooking in mind as a blog. I still love the blog and I want to get out there and do something in the real world.

The first cooking in mind event features RUN TALK RUN. I am a huge believer that running for chefs and hospitality workers could be a great tool in the box for coping with the stresses of the kitchen. Its great for anxiety, perspective and a way to reset the mind from being in work for such long hours.

So when the opportunity arose to host a special RUN TALK RUN with Jess Robson I saw the chance to meet others with a similar mindset. So on Monday 7th October at 10am its going to happen.

I’m nervous, I’m not going to lie. Am I heading right out of my comfort zone. But I am ready. This is the direction I want cooking in mind to go. I want to explore how I can spend my time running, meditating and doing yoga with people in the hospitality industry.

I believe its my way to make a difference in the battle against poor mental health in the kitchen.

Now to see who is with me, whether there is a demand for this. Whether others see the difference. I’d like to now meet as many chefs who run, or who have other hobbies or passions they use to help them cope in the kitchen.

Its a test to push the boundaries of our comfort zone. The modern world encourages us to stay safely within them. Similar posts, suggested music on spotify or suggested profiles on instagram are all examples of this. But, we all know we feel better when we go out of our comfort zones and it doesn’t kill us.

The safety of staying in the same kitchen, whether good or bad is an example of this. Pushing your boundaries is a great feeling.As cooks, we can do it whenever we like. Try cooking a Biryani if you’ve never cooked one before. Whether it comes out well or not it will give you a rush to try.

Embrace new challenges and see where it takes you.

Bring on the future

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Cooking when overwhelmed

Here’s a bit of an unprompted, unplanned post mostly happening as I need to get all this anxiety out.

This week I have the feeling of anxiety of old. The feeling of not knowing what multitude of things I need to think about (worry about in my case). But yesterday I realised it is not a feeling of dred as in the past. Its simply a feeling of being overwhelmed.

I have made some big life changing decisions in the past few months. Ones that could have massive consequences, for the good I am sure deep down. However, an anxious mind will always make this more difficult. If there is a negative, a risk, the anxious mind will cling to it like a moth to a flame. It will scrap the rational thinking that was done when making the decision and replace it with imminent nuclear war.

But what can I do here. Well first I listen to what it is saying to check there is no very sensible message. Once I realise that nothing has changed, I ask it to leave and take action.

This action dear readers is my trip to India. A trip to study Yoga & meditation. To Study how this could benefit me as a chef.

On a day of feeling overwhelmed the kitchen is a wonderful place. It gives me focus. This positive focus is my focus for the day.

So if you feel overwhelmed leading onto anxiety I suggest this. Take an action towards taking away the worry and simplifying what is in your head. It might not have an effect. Then head into the kitchen. Whether thats like me, into the Ballyvolane House kitchen to cook dinner or into your own kitchen to cook. Afterwards, come back to what you are overwhelmed by and see if its changed…

Ill report back tomorrow!

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Run : Talk : Cook

I’ve found myself sat in a cafe writing about how running is so bloody great. I could not be happier.

The big difference this time is that I’m writing after having not run for about a month. I’ve had a tough summer of work and found that adding running into the equation was just too much. Fortunately I have Yoga though but that’s for another post.

For those of you who know me you’ll know I like to run a lot. I ran the Brighton marathon and raised money for CALM last summer which is one of my fondest memories and greatest achievements.

During my darkest of days around 3 years ago it was running that offered me the most. It offered me focus and something to be positive about.

The feeling of calm and of freedom from running is a wonderful thing and one I would recommend to anyone who can be prone to worry or anxiety. When you run things become clearer and in perspective. If you have a problem or a big decision to make I assure you it will seem a little lighter during and after a run.

Today I’m thinking a lot about whether or not running regularly is a good idea for an overworked stressed out chef?

I’ve been torn. Was I right to decide to not run this summer through the most stressful of my career?

During the busy times I think you have to be very careful to look after yourself physically. Any form of over exercise could be really dangerous, great for the mind but physically worrying.

So, balance is the key I think. I would have still benefited from a couple of low intensity runs but as I said before I replaced this with an ever developing yoga practice which enabled me to get the benefits but without spending more time on my feet. Balance I think.

I miss running though. A lot. My brother is taking on a half marathon in the coming months and I couldn’t be prouder but also couldn’t be more jealous.

My point to the cheffing world is that running is a wonderful thing to be doing. It makes an almost immediate difference to the stress and anxiety you feel from the kitchen. But what you do need to do is be careful. If you have worked a 12 hour day on your feet and feel physically exhausted then a high intensity run probably isn’t a great idea.

For me it also leads on to thinking about that good old work life balance. If you cant find the energy to run then perhaps that balance is a bit off? Below is a link to my discussion about this going into a bit more detail.

Is this the right job for you?

There is a lot more to be said about running and it will be in the upcoming months. I’ll report back how much I am loving it to be back on the stomp.

x