After 30 years in the kitchen, having to retrain into another career after vision loss just wasn’t appealing for Ian Edwards.
He wanted to continue doing what he was good at – cooking.
So after a bit of trial and error, and admittedly a few burns, Ian is back in the kitchen and teaching others with vision loss to cook.
“Chefing is the only thing I’ve ever done in my life, so I went back to all I knew,” he told Vision Australia podcast series The Career Path.
“I had to re-evaluate the kitchen, and retrain myself.”
Listen to the full interview in the player below:
Being his own boss was a bit of a game changer too. He was able to go at his own pace, bring out his magnifiers and adjust things to his liking.
So when a local bowls club was looking for a chef, they took a chance on Ian.
Ian has now built a business where he works and also trains other budding chefs who have vision loss or are blind.
“The advice I give is: “don’t take no for an answer, it won’t come knocking on your door, you’ve got to knock on it.”
It’s easy for Ian to let his delicious meals speak for him. Usually the only time customers see their chef is blind is when Ian uses his white cane on his break.
For more on Chef Ian Edwards, visit his Linkedin page.
Career Path is a Vision Australia limited podcast series featuring stories of working people who are blind or have low vision and employers who champion diversity in the workplace. It aims to provide real and raw stories of what it’s like in the workplace with vision loss, from awkward encounters to flat out rejections, but also the success stories and tips to get hired.