Knife Of Brian .co.uk
  • Home
  • About
  • The Split Shift Podcast By KOB
  • Blog
  • Learn To Cook
  • Ideas and Recipes
  • Gallery
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Development chef

fit for purpose

11/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Fit for Purpose
In last month’s post, I wrote about chefs and food servers dealing with mental health issues. I’d like to thank all those who got in touch about that post. I was very overwhelmed by the responses I received. It seemed to ring home with a lot of people in this industry. If it encourages just one person to talk or open up, then my job here is done.
This time around I’m writing about something a little closer to home. Possibly a little less intense too. This time it’s physical health or rather, lack of it. I don’t know about you chef, but my body is giving out on me. My metabolism has slowed right down since I hit 40 years old. For a long while I could eat or drink whatever I wanted with no real change to my weight or health. This is all a bit obvious I guess. We get older, are bodies take more looking after. We need to be investing more time into getting in and staying in shape. There lies our problem eh chefs? Time….. free time. The chef’s nemesis.
Over the last few years I have been a member of a running club. I have completed a couple of   marathons. Both times with no way near the required training. Crossing the finishing line battered and beaten…..then back to work the next day. I know there are plenty of other professions which can make it hard for the individual to focus on keeping fit and healthy. It’s just that this hospitality industry is notorious for grinding its employees to a pulp and discarding them without a second thought. And we just accept in as the way it is.
I have said before that we as chefs need to make sure we balance our lives with other activities. We are soldiers. We’ll muscle our way through a 14 hour shift. Grazing on bread ends, charred chicken fillets and a rogue cherry tomato. At the end of the shift we’ll patrol the kitchen for end-of-day scraps, like a cliché New York hobo behind the bins. Which is, ironically, where you’ll probably find us sitting with our feast that would make any “Clean Eating wellness” blogger implode. We won’t be instagramming this shit!
The days off will come and there are very few of us who can be motivated to go and run, hit the gym or do anything that will improve their physical health. Unless you include sleep. There are chefs out there who can fit in the healthcare,  but they are in the minority. It’s not a healthy lifestyle. We work to cater to other people’s leisure and pleasure. Our own diet usually takes a back seat.
So what is the solution? For myself, I try to cycle to work and sometimes I run. The diet requires a massive amount of discipline, which I don’t have…. “You gonna eat that piece of bacon?” It is hard, especially when starting out on getting healthier. It is however, very possible. Employers should support the healthier pursuits of their staff. Encourage the 5-a-side team. Promote coverage of your chef in the marathon. Surely we’d rather have a fit kitchen, as opposed to the brigade of renegade, broken pirates.
So whatever you want to do chef, whether it’s swimming, cycling, running or even all three. Go do it. Try to make time for it. I have entered the Birmingham Marathon in October. I have no idea how I’ll get on, but I want to do it. I am fortunate enough to be supported by my employer and my customers, who gladly take the piss when I turn up to work in lycra!
Just go do it chefs. Your body needs it!

You can follow my running and stuff over at My Marathon and Other Animals. Click image below!​
Picture
0 Comments
    Picture

    Brian Powlett

    Hi, Welcome to my blog. I have been writing for a few years now. I like to think that I have improved slightly over that time. 
    ​I write mainly about chef issues.
    ​For blogs which are more about food etc, click on the IDEAS AND RECIPES option at the top of the page.
    ​Although, please read my posts here too.
    It's all good clean fun. 

    Cheers,

    ​Brian 

    Categories

    All
    2021
    Age
    Alumni
    Awards
    Bettercheflife
    Blog
    Burnt
    Career
    Career Change
    Catering
    Chef
    Chefs
    Christmas
    Cinema
    Colds
    Competition
    Coronavirus
    Covid 19
    Day Off
    Exit Strategy
    Film
    Flu
    Food Tech
    Furloughed
    GCSE Cookery
    Gcse Food
    Hospitality
    Humour
    Ill
    Ipswich
    Ipswich Chef
    Isolation
    Legends
    Lemsip
    List
    Lockdown
    Mental Health
    Movies
    New Business
    Northgate High School
    Quarentine
    Relationships
    Restaurant
    Retirement
    Retirement Chef
    Review
    School
    Sick Day
    Social Media
    Staff
    Suffolk Chef
    Suffolk Cooking
    Suffolk Schools
    The Shard
    The Staff Canteen
    Top 10
    #ukba19
    Ukblogawards
    Uk Blog Awards
    Wellness
    Writing

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly