Wellbeing could mean safety. It could mean calm. It could mean community.
It could be internal to you. It could be in the environment.
In my first post I wanted to put that thought out there and to talk about what it means to me and what its meant to me in the past.
When do you feel well?
For me, in the kitchen, a feeling of wellbeing is there when I feel like I am being my best self. When I feel safe in myself and safe in the environment that I am in.
For some I know it is in the midst of service. When adrenaline is flowing and they feel part of the team. The brigade. With a feeling of being in that moment.
It used to be the case for me. Not anymore. For me I enjoy a calmer, more balanced environment.
Which are you?
It can be a rhetorical question or one we talk about, but its invaluable to know. To know yourself. To know what wellbeing feels like. To know what you need in your life to feel it.
The Chefs Wellbeing program and the Chefs Union as a whole are here to say that this DOES matter.
The days of the hospitality industry being stoic and tough and putting up with a life without wellbeing are OVER.
Your Wellbeing MATTERS. And the wellbeing of your friends and colleagues matters.
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.
Ballymoloe trained chef, superstar and head chef at Good For The Soul Cafe in Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland talks about where his passion of food came from and the love you need to be a chef.
Food is an expression; a lifestyle choice ever before we step foot into a professional kitchen. For me, my love affair with food began as a quiet teenager in a family of wonderfully outspoken individuals as I asked myself what I could bring to the mayhem of this equation. The obvious answer, it seemed, was cake and suddenly things got personal.
All those years later, and things have changed little. A tough day can still be made better by a good bake; every family occasion is marked by a signature dessert, but what’s more is that each day has found me at the head of the Good For The Soul kitchen as my relationship with food goes from strength to strength.
The reason I touch back on the beginnings of one of the most important relationships in my life, is to then pave the way for a focus on the fragility and vulnerability which comes with such a connection. It is a brave move to subject something so important to the professional kitchen environment: an environment of intense pressure driven by the cruel mistress of time, under the watchful gaze of a temperamental audience. There must really be only one reason why we would do it, and it is true; we do it for the love.
However, love too is a double-edged sword, and in cooking with your heart, you put your head on the line. Despite being a part of a fast-paced team, the overriding narrative can often be your own thoughts. Such thoughts can manifest themselves in various forms along the spectrum, from the inner-saboteur to the well-satisfied ego. Orders flood in, plates go out and demands of tomorrow have already begun encroaching on your mind, and suddenly the lines between the head and the heart become blurred as the pressure grows and the pot boils.
A superior gives you feedback, a colleague does not share your vision, a customer takes to their online podium of power, blissfully unaware that for each blow they deliver, the ripple effect will throw another ten, leaving a chef accountable to their seniors, their peers and most directly to themselves.
There are so many external sources of impact on the mind of a chef that put our mental health in jeopardy. It is therefore our responsibility to be aware of such factors and to create that on/off switch between the personal and professional. Whilst easier said than done, what we can do for ourselves is simple: remind yourself regularly why you cook; what dish you first cooked which gave you the confidence to say ‘yes I can’ and stay present. Let not one flawed dish set a precedent for the following hundred, rather reaffirm why and prove yourself in the comeback, as you continue to strive for excellence.
The next step is to turn outwards, look at those around you. Those with whom you share a kitchen and a common goal are quite likely experiencing similar thoughts and have different levels of ability to deal with them also. Be a support and be supported. Signs of stress or anxiety can often be clear so be prompt in your action. You should know the mood and what your kitchen can be; like a well-rehearsed song, that you know instantly if somebody is out of tune.
I maintain that food should be accessible and not a well kept secret. We are all connected by our love of food, and so should share that freely: talk. Talk, don’t tell. Share with each other your knowledge about food, your experiences, ideas, inspirations and realign your personal mission statement before it gets so entangled in a stifled, emotion-driven silence.
Chefs have been tarred with the ‘tired and cranky’ brush for far too long. We are allowed to be vulnerable and to feel the highs and the lows in equal measure. With every failed soufflé, comes a memory; with every memory comes an experience and with every experience comes an opportunity to grow. Do not retreat from these moments; rather cherish them as soon-to-be highlights in your own memory bank of learning.
Finally, from a diners’ perspective also food evokes memory. As chefs we owe it to the legion of great chefs before us to facilitate the creation of more special memories through the dishes which we present. It is an honour to be entrusted with this task. However, as humans, we owe it to ourselves to take care of one another, to know when the relationship is fraught and in need of repair, and to ensure we are able for the role before we reach the point of burnout.
Cook with the head and with the heart, but above all, cook smart.
As part of cooking in mind I think its important to be asking difficult questions. Questions that could cause division and conflict to begin with. I have a huge fear of confrontation, I always have so this question has always been a difficult one for me. I have always asked it.
Asking this to yourself is important in all professions but as a chef I think it is particularly important. A chef role can take over your life.
Being in the right job can be magnificent for your mental health. You can feel energised and motivated a good proportion of the time.
Being in the wrong job can be very dangerous for your mental health. Am I in the right job for me? now?
To guide you I’ve made some points below. Some things to think about when trying to answer the question
Don’t base this decision on whether it is ‘hard’.
When you are doing meaningful work then hard work is empowering and rewarding. Work is the wrong kind of hard when you don’t feel engaged in what you are doing.
Do you feel you thriving on the pressure of what you are doing?
When times get hard perhaps during a busy service do you feel a rush of adrenaline? When this happens you can actually feel a high. On the other hand, do you feel heaviness in your stomach or a tight chest. These are warning signs that you need to listen to. What is your body telling you?
It is a dangerous environment for your mental health, but is it leading you to where you want to be? Can you focus on the end to get you through the now? Can you side step safely?
This is a huge question. A complicated question. Long term goals can help you when things get very tough. However, you need to learn where your line is. In simple terms life is short and you should never put yourself through too much for any long term idea. Never push too hard however, you could endure a tough year if you can see the light at the end as a powerful motivator and focus point rather than the present struggle.
Does the business match your values?
These values could be linked to your long term goals. Are you vegan and working in a steak restaurant? Do you agree with the way your owners run the business from an ethical pint of view? This can effect your engagement to your role and how much you can give.
Does the business want what is best for you?
Are they nurturing you? Are they working towards you being your best self? Or are they simply bleeding what they can from you? This could be through regular progress meetings or simply getting regular feedback as to how things are going. Do they discuss long term goals for your progression. Some businesses do this very well and others simply see you as another face.
Are you being developed? Are you learning?
You will never know everything. you should always feel you are learning.
Does the kitchen have a mental health policy?
Right now this is unlikely but it is a question we should all be asking. For now, perhaps think about what would happen if you went to a manger and explained you weren’t coping very well. Would they be supportive? Would there be mental health sick days?
If you felt anxiety within your job, could you speak to anyone?
Leading on from the last question really, do you have a good relationship with your managers. Could you talk to people about your concerns and / or anxieties.
Having long term goals are important. Is the job directing you towards them?
Think big. You only have one life. Don’t waste it. Knowing where you want to be will make you happy in the present when working towards that point.
I’m looking for chefs to join me in a focus group to discuss how we can have all chefs in the right roles. If you are interested please get in touch through social media or the contact me page. Id like to discuss these issues from the side of chefs and from owners.
