Life Lately!

Life Lately! It has been a very hectic time. From building Home Cooking with Chef Sez up again, to working at a restaurant, and also having the time for day to to day things, let’s just say it has been a bit of struggle juggling it all. I am just taking each day as it comes, otherwise it all gets a little bit too overwhelming.

As you all know, I am currently running Home Cooking with Chef Sez, but I thought I’d share insight of what goes on with life when I am not running a business. A lot of the things I talk about or show on my page is cooking, but outside of that there is a lot admin and online work, all currently done by myself. So its full on to say the least. Majorirty of my time is dedicated to my business, but three days of my week are currently spent as a Pasta Prep Chef at Osteria Renata in Prahran. So basically, every day of my life is all things Pasta, which, to be honest I wouldn’t have it any other way! I am the Pasta Queen after all! Then outside all of this, I somehow manage to spend time with family especially my Nonni, my friends, exercise, meditate and eat! And just over a week ago I decided to purchase an online digital marketing course (to help with business), that I am trying to find the time to do as well! So there is a lot happening right now.

What I wanted to share more of though is about where I am working currently, what my job looks like and the chefs I am working with. Osteria Renata is on High Street in Prahran and has been there for just over 12 months. I started working there about six weeks ago. Angus (Gus) Cadden is the Head Chef and we first started working together at my first ever job at Sagra in Malvern back in 2017.  Then worked together again at Park Street Pasta and Wine in South Melbourne. I was there from the start of 2019 to end of 2020. And now we work together again at Osteria Renata. Gus has been an incredible mentor throughout my whole cooking career, has always been my go-to person for Chef and career advice, he is an incredibly passionate Chef, who has so much knowledge and I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to work with him again.

I’ve always loved making Pasta since I was little, but I really become passionate about it when I started working at Park Street Pasta and Wine. I learnt so much in the time I was there and still to this day I use many of the things that Gus has taught me in my own work but also all the processes and techniques are still the same at Osteria Renata.  So walking into the job wasn’t as challenging as it normally is with a new job as everything was pretty much the same. The only difference was the quantities where a little bit bigger! I am even working with another Chef who started out as a Kitchen Hand at Park Street and is now a Chef de Partie at Osteria.  It is pretty great to see his progress, and working with him again I can really see how far he has come.

What do my shifts look like, well they are almost the same each shift. First, I make Coffee- most importantly! Then I can start working. Crack a whole box of Eggs and separate the Yolks from the White. Make filled Pasta Dough, make Egg Dough, extrude Egg Dough, laminate filled Pasta Dough, make Squid Ink Pasta Dough (not every shift), extrude Squid Ink Pasta Dough, make filled Pasta (on the menu now is Cappelletti-pictured above, they are so small and so cute, and Quadratti), then clean up. Also on Mondays, I make a Semolina Dough which is then extruded to make a few different shapes for the lunch menu. There is often a Pasta special thrown into all of that as well! Usually in the space of about 5 hours, sometimes more depending on the day but genuinely it’s a lot to be done in a short amount of time. But I absolutely love it. Working here compliments what I am doing as it keeps me learning and keeps my speed and skills up.

Sometimes, I do get a bit overwhelmed with how much needs to be done, but once I am working it just becomes a bit like a meditation. I just flow. When I first started back making the Pasta for the restaurant, I felt slow but within a matter of weeks I have definitely picked up my speed. To be part of such a great business, a great restaurant and a great team is a really great blessing. Makes my hours at work go by quickly, because I am enjoying it, and I am also having fun too. For the time I am there, I can switch off from what’s happening with Home Cooking with Chef Sez for a short while because the minute I walk out the door my mind races to all the jobs that need to be done when I get home.

On the days I am working at the restaurant, my evenings are spent doing marketing things, website additions/changes, blog posts, orders and/or answering customer questions. It really never stops, so it takes a lot of effort for me to say no, I’m taking the night off.  I am doing what I love and although some days are much harder than others, I know things will start to get better and my visions for the business will begin to happen. It’ll take time but they will. I am trying to start implementing little things into my day to make sure I am taking care of me, because as much as I am wanting to work as hard as I can, I know my body well enough now that eventually she will just make me stop. I’ve experienced burn out twice before in the industry and I really do not want to get to that point again. So things like incorporating more exercise, keeping up my meditation, setting reminders on my phone to take a break, have a breather, eat lunch are all things I am looking to implement in my life because I need to sustain myself for the long term not short term. Some of the things, you’d probably think should be a no brainer, but once I start working or have deadlines- that’s my only focus nothing else.

Running a business again, has been challenging but as much as there are days where it all feels like too much and I want to throw in the towel- I never could, my passion and love for my business is like nothing else. Within the space of three months I have seen so much growth within myself and the business and I know things will just continue to grow. I feel there are going to be lots of exciting things and changes happening with business as things go on. This week is very exciting, as I am holding a stall at the Heide markets for the very first time. It will be so good to get out into the community and share my passion further with everyone. The line up is all my faves: Tagliatelle, Napoli, Bolognese, Brownie, Caramel Slice and Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies. I hope to see some regulars and some new faces attending the stall! I think it is going to be lots of fun.

That’s life as of late! It’s exciting, it’s crazy, it’s hectic, there has been a lot of tears, but it has all been full of growth and all of it will get me to where I want to be with business. Some days are good, some days are bad, but that’s the way life is. The challenges will keep coming up, but I will be able to deal with them better as they show up into my life. As I get stronger, so too will business.