Highlights
- Many have been forced to shift their careers due to a crisis brought by the pandemic.
- There is no substitute for hard work, Chef Nico Madrangca says.
- Chef Nico is still hopeful for the future that could get back to a job in the hospitality industry.
Job losses are mounting, and the hospitality industry has stood out as being among the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the inner-city Sydney restaurant where Nico Madrangca worked as head chef closed, he never thought that paving roads and layering stones would be his new source of living.
"The hospitality industry was so down. It was so hard to find a chef job."
A new path
The past year has become the most unsettling period of his life.
Like ships lost at sea, it’s a hard thing for hospitality workers like Chef Nico to get up every morning and face the fact that their work, their purpose, and their focus is diminishing.
Despite his love for hospitality and cooking, Chef Nico did not think twice when the opportunity came up to leap into a different industry.
"My friend asked if I wanna try paving. And I was like, why not? I'm vacant and I need money, we all need the money and we need to survive."
He also invited a few friends who were in the same situation.
“I invited my friends who are in hospitality as well who need a job. So, four of us in the hospitality industry went there.
"We are so happy because this is the first job we had without pressure.”
Most career consultants believe that learning new skills pulls a person away from day-to-day worries, stimulates new pathways in the brain, and provides a sense of accomplishment.
It may present certain challenges but can open up numerous opportunities for career growth and greater achievement.
Flexibility and hard work
If there’s one thing that’s true about construction, Chef Nico says, it’s that you’re going to be working hard and is physically demanding. Cooking is physically hard work, too.
Chefs typically have good discipline and can relay and follow orders quickly in the kitchen. These characteristics helped him and his friends perform better in their new job.
“We put pebbles on the roads, we lift big rocks and work on the walkways in Barangaroo”
The kitchen is calling
Making a career change can be an emotional roller-coaster. In spite of the good salary, Chef Nico can’t help but turn his mind to a time when public gatherings in restaurants were an everyday part of life rather than a threat to public health.
“I miss hospitality. It’s like the kitchen is calling me back. It’s my passion and sometimes I’m wondering, I should have my own restaurant.
"Sometimes when we’re working in construction, I daydream of being in the kitchen and I ask myself why I am here.”
Still, he is hopeful for a future where the hospitality industry and institutions can successfully adapt and re-emerge from the pandemic.
“I see myself working in the kitchen in the future. I’m not saying construction is bad, but that’s my career. Even though it’s hard, you gonna love the hustle.
“Of course, we will be back. Once a chef, always a chef.”
