TrainedfoodfolkhavethemostfascinatingrelationshipwithfoodI've ever seen - never before have I been around so many people who make great food all day long and yet eat little of it. Coming from my sedentary housecat life of planning lunches and sleeping in, I was bound to have a rude awakening. In my first month on the line, I developed a callous at the base of my right pointer finger from wielding knives and became gaunt and sickly due to a habit of having cappuccinos for breakfast, cigarettes for lunch, and popcorn for dinner. As someone who has a history of disordered eating and a lifetime of romanticising the back of the house, my sudden career change kicked my ass. If you'veworkedinthetrade,everspokentoachef,oratleastreadAnthonyBourdain's Kitchen Confidential, you know the addictive patterns the job entails. Though some aspects drastically differ between Bourdain'skitcheninthe1980sandaNorthernEuropeanrestaurantkitchennow(slightlylesscocaineandnoonewearsatoqueanymore),otherthingsreallyhaven'tchanged-mostofall,theterribleeatinghabitsofchefs.</p>
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AfewmonthsafterIstartedworkinginthekitchen,Ibeganattendingculinaryschoolandquicklyrealisedexactlyhowunsustainablemynewlifestylewas.NotonlywasItiredallthetime,butIhadalsobegunfeelingdespondentbecauseIhadwithdrawnthejoyandcreativityI'd always associated with food and replaced it with calculations and ruthless productivity. Things had to change; I'dchosenculinaryovergradschoolandyetmyloveforfoodculturewasnowheretobefound.Reintroducingcookingformyselfwaslikelearningtocookalloveragain.Recipeshadtobesimpleatfirst;nomorethanfiveingredientsandlittletonoprepandcleanup.Mostofall,therecipecouldn't keep me by the stove for longer than absolutely necessary. Behold, one dinner turned into many others, soon joined by breakfast. I'mstillterribleateatinglunch.</p>
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Don't get me wrong, I dearly love being a chef and the starched-white aesthetics of the kitchen, but I want to find a way to not let my job consume me and my love for food. Chefs still have a drastically lower life expectancy than most occupations and it'snotallduetofumesandkneeproblems.Rather,it's the harsh lifestyle and its implications for our overall health. There must be a future in which hospitality industry workers don'thavetoworkforfifteenhourswithoutbreaksandthenrelyoncigarettesandalcoholtocopewiththestress,eventuallybecomingthebitterandjadedpeoplewetraditionallyassociatewiththeprofession.Theremustbeawayaroundit-Ibelieveitstartswithtakingcareofyourselffirst.