L E T T E R – A Commitment To Adventuring

My Dad was a very renowned chef, winning best restaurant in Australia as well as three hats. His brother, my uncle had the same awards, so it was success all around for our family. But really their peak was before the advent of the ‘celebrity chef’. Chef’s Table didn’t exist. Instagram wasn’t even a thing, and once live, wasn’t yet that popular back then. Masterchef was starting to take off, and my Dad was on it, but it was still in its infancy.

These days chefs and restaurants have cult followings and being famous is a ‘big deal’. My parents disliked famous anything, and so did my uncle and aunt. It was so fantastic being raised by people who valued renown over fame. Being known for being incredible at what you create, and being passionate and dynamic was valued. Being famous and acting like a celebrity was not. When we ate there, my Dad would walk out to sit with us for a bit and people would point and whisper loudly ‘look there he is’. As a result, Dad didn’t come out into the restaurant that much and stayed in the kitchen. Where striving for beauty, perfection, and harmony were his focus, surrounded by other chefs who worked to the same goals. We had soooo many celebrities come through the restaurant. And they all got treated just like every other guest. As a rule. The experience of being there was to be the same elevated and special experience for absolutely everyone. Dummy spits by celebrities or demands for special treatment pretty quickly escalated into their departure.

I worked in that restaurant for well over a decade, from waitering, to doing the interior design, branding, artworks, marketing and PR. It framed up so much of how I worked,  how I created and what I valued. Every stereotype had to. Equality was key. Being of service, truly creating something for someone else to experience it in its fullness was why we all got out of bed each day. It was brutally hard work on the mind and body, the hours, the lack of socialising outside of work, the long shifts. But every day you got to make someone’s anniversary, birthday, or just a its Wednesday something remarkable.

And once you peeled back all the stereotypes and saw everyone as human, it was simply beautiful. I personally think way too much weight these days is placed on being famous, and not enough on what you create. And it’s shifted the focus. So let’s collectively take a stand that famous is fine, but adventuring, changing our minds, refusing to be stereotyped and living as though life was an adventure, is far greater.

Sent with love,

Jac x