Cooking With Sound

After 15 years as a chef, I left the cooking world behind me and stepped into a world of audio. I originally wanted to work in music when I was in school but it was just not accessible or realistic to me at that time. While I tried in vein to make it as a musician, I took an apprenticeship as a chef not because I dreamed of being a chef or was even that passionate about it. Mainly because everyone kept telling me I needed a backup plan. As time went on my backup plan became my main plan and music drifted further and further away. So here I am a mature student doing a bachelor of audio.

So what transferable skills have I brought from cooking into audio?

Strong Work Ethic In the real world, work ethic is everything. All industries require you to be punctual, show up on time and put in effort when you get there. This is especially important in the cooking industry. Having a background cooking for the army, the mines, hospitals and universities meant that arriving on time and achieving the goals of having the food ready on time was absolutely paramount. This kind of work ethic transfers into audio I treat this as my job, I put in the time, effort and I am dedicated to learning and doing the absolute best job I can.

Time Management Abilities Arriving on time and putting in the effort is only the first part of the recipe. Meeting deadlines and working to a schedule is equally important to me. As a chef multi-tasking and time management were an essential part of every day, to get meals prepared and served on time. In Audio this includes having things set up on time and ready to go when the artist arrives and making sure the project is progressing to schedule. Audio engineering has many paths that can lead you down a rabbit hole. These proverbial rabbit holes can actually be very beneficial in an artistic sense but it’s important to be aware of the time and to keep things progressing.

Acting as a Team Player I never played sports growing up but when I started playing in a band at 13 I really started to learn what teamwork was all about. It was a massive growing process and something I took into the work industry with me. I have learnt to always be involved, trust my team members, take a step back when they’ve got it sorted and jump in when I’m needed.

While the path I have travelled isn’t direct, the skills I have gained from work and life have all been a valuable part of my journey. There is no destination, I am where I want to be. Success is being on this journey.