May 19, 2022 • 21 mins
Good Food and Great Expectations.
In this episode, we have two guests for the price of one! Anushka Bindra shares her job seeking goal, and Ian Edwards tells us about the creation of the Blind Chef restaurant.
Learn more about our Career Path podcast and access a range of employment resources by selecting this link or visit www.visionaustralia.org and search for 'The Career Path' podcast.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:16):
Hello and welcome to the Career Path. A recent report
from Sweeney and Vision Australia revealed that 83% of employers
surveyed lacked confidence in hiring someone with a vision impairment.
With this podcast, we hope to delve further into this
issue by speaking to job seekers, employers and employees to
hear their perspectives. Each episode will be available to download
(00:39):
as a podcast, just go to Vision Australia org and
type the career path into the search engine to find
our webpage where you can listen to other episodes and
subscribe to make sure that you don't miss any. Hi,
I'm your host, Belinda Wilson. This episode of The Career
Path features two guests Anoushka Singh and the blind chef
(00:59):
Ian Edwards. First up is Anoushka. Anoushka is a legally
blind job seeker, blind sports ambassador and contact centre officer. Anoushka,
thank you so much for joining us.
S2 (01:12):
Thank you for having me, Belinda.
S1 (01:14):
Anushka, you discovered that you had a vision impairment at
a young age. What was it like trying to navigate
a new school and country with a vision impairment?
S3 (01:23):
Just to give.
S2 (01:23):
You a bit of information about myself, I came to
Australia when I was 6 or 7 years old. We
migrated from India and my parents were offered a job
twice and the second time they just decided to take
the opportunity. So here I am today. In terms of language,
language has never been a barrier because English has always
been my first language. But in terms of schooling, it
was really challenging for me. I had all sorts of
(01:46):
wild experiences because I was the first person in my
school who had a vision impairment, so it was really
hard to navigate a new environment and a different school.
But as the years passed by, the experience was much
more smoother just because of the awareness. And I had
to educate my teachers with my disability. So towards the
end of the years, the process was much more smoother.
S1 (02:07):
So when you were in school, what types of careers
were you interested in exploring?
S3 (02:11):
When I was a kid, I really wanted to.
S2 (02:13):
Become a doctor. So as the years passed by, as
I started growing, I realized, well, that is something which
I won't be able to accomplish because being a doctor
would entail a visual element. And that is something which
is going to be really hard for me. Then I
thought to myself, Well, what is something else I can do?
And what does like why I want to become a doctor?
And then I thought to myself, I want to become
(02:34):
a doctor because I want to help others. I want
to help the community. Well, I can do the same
by being a social worker. I can help our community.
I can help people who have disability. So that's that's
where it led to be a social worker.
S1 (02:48):
So this led you to study a Diploma of Community Services.
What was that experience like for you?
S3 (02:53):
Well, at the start it was.
S2 (02:55):
Really challenging because it was pretty much like my school.
I was the first person who had a vision impairment,
so I had to spread that sort of awareness, educate
my teachers. I had to wait for semesters just to
get everything converted into a digital format. So it was
really challenging for myself. But as the years passed by,
with the awareness and the education, things started changing and
(03:17):
it was a much better and a smoother process. And
towards the end of my studies, I was also awarded
the Student of the Year award 2018, where I was
given $1,000, which was really encouraging for myself.
S1 (03:29):
You have a vision impairment that is not immediately obvious
to others. What sort of encounters have you had as
a person with a hidden disability?
S3 (03:37):
Well, I've had.
S2 (03:38):
All sorts of wild experiences.
S3 (03:40):
Because it's really.
S2 (03:41):
Hard when you have a hidden disability. You have so
many challenges because people in our community have that sort
of a stereotype that if you have a vision impairment,
you'll be holding a cane or using a speech software. However,
with myself, I don't use any sort of aides or
equipment when I'm out and about in the community. So
it's really challenging for me. But in terms of encounters,
(04:02):
I've had so many encounters, like spending time with myself.
I love going out in a restaurant and spending time
with myself. So if I go in a restaurant, people
are going to be like, It doesn't seem that you
have a vision impairment if you're asking for help or
if you are asking them to read the menu. And
these sort of encounters I have almost every now and
then I did actually give a call to my bank
(04:25):
last week and I requested them to just get some
of the format converted into a word document instead of
a PDF because my screen reader doesn't pick up the
PDF document. And then I got a response from a
bank saying that, Oh, you sound so normal. And I
wanted to react saying that what does my speech has
to do with my vision impairment? And then people have
these sort of stereotypes, like if you have a vision impairment,
(04:47):
you wouldn't follow any sort of fashion trends. Like for myself,
I love wearing heels, I love dressing up. But people
have a conception that if you have a vision impairment,
you don't tend to follow such things. And then every
now and then I would say almost on a monthly basis,
I just get that sort of response that, Oh, have
you ever shown to an eye doctor? Probably, you know,
you can get some sort of spectacles which are on
(05:10):
a high powered side. And then I always like I've
started replying back saying that, Oh, thank you so much
for letting me know because my parents never thought about this.
You know, it's been 25 years. My parents never thought
about that. So thank you so much.
S1 (05:22):
I think I'm going to start using that answer as well.
I think that's a great answer. You've been involved in
a lot of volunteer activities. Can you share your experience
with us?
S3 (05:32):
Sure. So I would.
S2 (05:33):
Say volunteer work is really important because it just gives you.
A real taste of the work environment. It helps you
acquire new skills and knowledge. So I have worked in
an organization called Blind Spots Recreational Victoria, so that's the
place where I did my first student placement. And then
I've done my second student placement, which was in Virgin Australia.
(05:54):
So volunteer works. It just helps you to be a
better person in terms of a professional person.
S1 (05:59):
After you completed your diploma, you started the Career Start
program with Vision Australia. Can you tell us what is
the Career Start program?
S3 (06:08):
Sure.
S2 (06:08):
So your Career Start program, It's a 12 month program
which consists of a nine month student placement, which is
paid in internally. It's a nine month placement where people
just work in within Australia for nine months and it's
a paid placement for the rest of the three months.
It's an external placement in an external organisation. So yes,
(06:28):
I completed my career start program in the month of
March this year, so I'm really thankful to be in
Australia to give me that sort of an opportunity and
platform because I did learn a lot. I did acquire
a lot of skills and knowledge and I was also
able to accomplish one of my goals, which was to
purchase a property at the age of 24. So really,
thank you so much in Australia for giving me that
(06:50):
sort of an opportunity and it helped me accomplish my goal.
S1 (06:53):
You've also recently started a position as a blind sports ambassador.
What are you going to be doing in that role?
S3 (06:59):
So with Blind Spots.
S2 (07:00):
Recreational Victoria, it's a statewide organization which promotes health and
wellbeing of people having vision impairment or blindness by offering
recreational and sporting activities. So yes, I am their ambassador
and I'll be supporting that organization in the best way
possible by presenting them in different councils and just doing
a bit of TED talks, public speaking. So I have
(07:22):
been a great supporter of blind sport because that's where
I started my first placement and they were the ones
who gave me that sort of a platform to establish
my career. So I'm really thankful to blind spots and
I just want to give it back to the blind
sports recreational organization in the best way possible.
S1 (07:38):
So you're currently working part time as a contact center officer,
but you're actively job seeking. What sort of role are
you looking for?
S2 (07:47):
Yes, sir, I'm working part time. And in terms of
job seeking, I'm looking for some sort of roles which
would entail working in client services because I love working
with people, as I mentioned earlier, and just spreading that
sort of awareness, educating people in terms of disability. So
I'm also looking for some platforms where I would get
an opportunity to educate and just educate people because that
(08:09):
sort of awareness, it has to be there. Like, you know,
when you have a hidden disability or if you have
a disability. So just to just to break those sort
of stereotypes. So I'm looking for such opportunities.
S1 (08:20):
That sounds great. So what future goals do you have?
S3 (08:24):
So in terms.
S2 (08:24):
Of my professional goals, I really want to become a
team leader. That's one of my short term goals. And
in terms of my personal goals, I want to write
a book about my role model, and I also want
to spread, as mentioned, awareness and educate people. If a
person has a hidden disability, what sort of support and
assistance we require.
S1 (08:43):
So any future goals in terms of fashion or modelling.
S3 (08:47):
For sure, Yeah.
S2 (08:48):
If I do get an opportunity, I would really want
to become a model or even do a fashion show.
That is something that's one of my personal goals for sure.
S1 (08:57):
And so you said that you wanted to write a
book about your role models. So who are your role models?
S2 (09:02):
My grandpa is a rebel. He's my role model. He
has always been my role model and he has shaped me,
Whoever I am today. It's because I've always seen him,
the hard work he has done, and he's a self-made person,
so he has always motivated me and how much I
have seen him like he has done for the community.
He has always taught me and my family members to
(09:22):
always give it back to the community selflessly. So that
is something which I've learned from him. And I always
feel that, you know, our grandparents are a role model
and because there are roots. So that is.
S3 (09:33):
Something which I've.
S2 (09:34):
Always seen in him and I've learnt from him. If
you have the willpower, the right intentions and an honest heart,
you can achieve anything in life. So again, even in
terms of my disability, he has always supported me and
because of him today I wear my vision impairment as
a crown, so I really thank him.
S1 (09:52):
What advice would you give to employers about recruiting or
hiring someone with a vision impairment?
S3 (09:58):
So the advice I would give, I would say if
we have the right.
S2 (10:01):
Technology and the right support and assistance from employees, we
can achieve anything. We can just through our work as
a sighted person. But we do need that sort of
additional support and assistance from the employees and just that
sort of extra understanding. So if we have the right support,
we can definitely perform a tasks and duties and just
(10:22):
I would say we always turn our disability into an ability.
S3 (10:25):
So just give us a.
S2 (10:27):
Chance and I'm sure we can prove you.
S3 (10:29):
Wrong. Well, there.
S1 (10:30):
You have it. That was Anushka jobseeker ambassador, model, fashionista, and.
Someone with great ties to the community who has a
very strong grandparent who is her role model. Thank you
so much for joining us today, Anushka, along the career path.
S3 (10:45):
My pleasure. Thank you so.
S2 (10:46):
Much for having me.
S1 (10:48):
Our next guest is Ian Edwards, otherwise known as the
Blind Chef. Ian, you have a very interesting story. You
worked as a chef for 30 years before losing your
sight and then you continue to work as a chef.
Can you please share with us your story?
S4 (11:02):
Yes, it was interesting. My story started probably 5 or
6 years ago where I had a detached retina complication
set in when they reattached it. And it left me
legally blind in both eyes, even though only one retina
dropped off. From then on, I had to give up work,
give up everything. I did a career that for 30
years that I had done, I had a year off,
nearly went mad, and we came up with a project,
(11:24):
The Blind Chef, which enabled me to get back in
the kitchen to do what I love doing and during
this process found a lot of people with vision, impairment
or disability that would love to have a go at
a career in it, but unable to get anyone to
give them a start.
S1 (11:40):
You made a really interesting decision because a lot of
people would not have decided to continue as a chef
and maybe would have looked at other careers. So what
made you decide to continue as a chef?
S4 (11:51):
Chef is the only thing I've ever done all my life.
And as people know, chefs are bad tempered, They're impatient,
and trying to train me to do something would be
a nightmare. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. So basically
I went back to all I knew, but it was
different because I had to reevaluate a kitchen and retrain myself,
you know, with low vision to continue the career that
(12:12):
I loved.
S1 (12:13):
So in order to retrain yourself, what were some adjustments
that you needed to make to work in a kitchen?
S4 (12:19):
The main adjustments were to find out what was hot
and what was not. But, you know, once you familiarize
yourself with surroundings and that and being my own boss
and allowed me to do that, I mean, I still,
for a little while tried to work in somebody else's kitchen.
But when it's fast paced with somebody else, call on
the shot. It was very difficult for me to keep
(12:40):
up and like, you know, I'd read a docket with
magnifiers on and then I'd read it again and I'd
have to ask somebody what hell was on table five,
you know? And I couldn't do it. It just it
was unfair to me and unfair to them. So hence
that's why we started the Blind Chef.
S1 (12:54):
So just a quick question. How did you determine what
was hot and what was not in the kitchen?
S4 (12:59):
The only way to do it, catch it. I see
shapes and colors, but no detail whatsoever. I'd walk into
a kitchen and I see the big silver thing of
the is that the oven and I checked. Yep, that's it.
But it's easy. And the only thing I still have
trouble with. There's two things I have trouble in the kitchen.
One is with cooking, it's chicken. And I have a
second chef who she's like the co-pilot. And I say, Look,
(13:20):
you know, how's this look? Yeah, that's cooked, right? Because
I can't see the pink or the chicken. You know
what I mean? Steaks are different. They're easy. But that
side of it and the depth of a pair of
tongs in a deep fryer, I've snipped the end of
my fingers many times.
S1 (13:34):
Ian, what got you interested in cooking and what steps
did you take to become a chef?
S4 (13:40):
Oh, look, my mother was a cook. She was a
very good hotel cook and a phenomenal cook in desserts
and stuff, so I probably got it from there. I
didn't think so at the time, but look, I didn't
think that was my calling either. But I moved from
a country town to Newcastle and prior to that I
worked with my brother and sawmill and that type of thing.
But when I got to Newcastle there were no sawmills,
(14:03):
there was like restaurants and things, and I thought, Oh,
what am I going to do? I applied for a
kitchen hand job and the lady boss said to me
about three weeks after I started, Would you like to
be an apprentice? I said, Oh, no, no. But she said,
I think it should be. And yeah, So I became
an apprentice and the rest is history.
S1 (14:22):
How did you create the Blind Chef Bistro?
S4 (14:25):
The first club at Uluru that we took on? I
went down there and I got out of the car
and my partner said to me, What are you doing?
I said, Oh, it's going to let me speak in
the car. You're with me. It's all right. She cares
what and when you start cooking and pull the stick out,
they're not going to notice. And I said, I suppose so.
I went in there, I told them the story I
wanted to do. I wanted to open a business. I
(14:48):
wanted to do affordable meals for the clients I wanted.
But the main important part was to give other people
opportunity to vision impaired people to work. So they sort
of went with my story. I went with that and
it was it came a success basically overnight.
S1 (15:04):
You're really involved with mentoring and training the blind and
low vision community, How to Cook. What advice would you
give for people who are interested in entering the hospitality
or food service industry?
S4 (15:15):
The advice I give them is one is don't take
no for an answer and two is it won't come
knocking on your door. You've got to knock on it.
I know how hard I found it knocking on doors
to get assistance. When it was time for me to
head back into a kitchen, I just. There was nothing surprising. Surprising?
In this day and age, everybody says everything's inclusive. Everything is.
(15:36):
But when it really comes to the push, there's probably 1%
of industry that really wanted to help. I mean, around
here where we are in the harbour at Newcastle, it's
surprising now. I mean I don't sort of go anywhere
that I don't get recognised and I think now it's
gained a lot of respect for vision impairment.
S1 (15:54):
So you've helped to raise a lot of awareness for
how people with vision impairments can work in these type
of industries.
S4 (16:01):
That's exactly right. And we've had probably about half a
dozen vision impaired people. Everyone has their own different story
of what they've what their disability is, how much they
can see or vice versa. And you sort of have
to work with them on that and mentoring. But yeah,
the real big thing is bringing up awareness of it
because the biggest problem is the people that assume if
(16:22):
you're impaired or you're blind, you see nothing. You know
what I mean?
S1 (16:26):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of misperceptions about legally
blind and blind and low vision and that there's a
huge spectrum. Not everyone has a dog guide. Not everybody
looks blind, but yet we can all have vision impairments
at different levels.
S4 (16:43):
Yeah, the hardest thing is people misconception of what it is.
You know, they just assume you're blind and that you
can't see anything, so you can't do anything.
S1 (16:53):
Employers may be concerned about hiring people with vision impairments
to work in busy restaurants or kitchens due to concerns
over safety. If you were able to sit down with
these employers, what advice would you give them?
S4 (17:05):
Not to be worried because it's like any able vision person,
you can train anybody. You just have to have time
and train them. I mean, in my kitchen, nothing is marked.
It's not a red spot on this saying, you know,
don't say that. Don't say this doesn't work. People, you
train them. Right. This is here. That's there. And, you know,
(17:29):
please don't go near that until I'm ready to show
you that because that's hot. It comes back to the thing.
You know, they've got common sense as much as anybody
else has.
S1 (17:37):
So it's more about learning the atmosphere and the layout
of the kitchen.
S4 (17:41):
If you do your orientation properly and familiarize every student
with that, there's not a problem. The problem is only
what people put into people's heads or their thinking themselves.
Oh God, I better not let him use that knife.
Who cut his head off? It's a preconception. You're blind.
You can't do anything.
S1 (18:00):
Have you had any issues with safety, with any of
your students or yourself?
S4 (18:04):
None whatsoever. No issues of safety. No issues of anyone
cutting themselves, touching anything hot? Nothing whatsoever. You know, and
we've been doing this project almost four years and we
have quite a busy business and no one has hurt themselves.
No one has had an accident. No one has done
anything like that.
S1 (18:23):
When you mentor people, is it just about cooking or
are there other areas that you mentor them in?
S4 (18:28):
No, no, we mentor them in all of it. Like,
you know, plating up, dishing up. They do all the
salads as well as cooking desserts, serving desserts. You know,
they do everything because other than that, it's tokenism. Oh,
don't let him do that because he might hurt himself. No,
he's going to do it because the one thing people
with disability strive for is to be treated equal. They
(18:50):
want to do it because they've been told all their
life they can't do it. And once they start to
do something different to what they've been doing, they think,
Oh wow, this is good, this is good. I can
go home and cook for mum and dad tonight. They
really enjoy it.
S1 (19:03):
What has been your experience with working with young people,
with mentoring and teaching?
S5 (19:07):
There was a.
S4 (19:08):
Probably about eight mentors at the Vision Australia thing I
did and they were lined up mine to discuss things
and that was huge. I was gobsmacked to think that
this many people are interested in doing it, you know,
And when I say interested, you know, they may never
take up as a career, but they might like to
do a six week course of home school cooking, you know,
(19:29):
And what comes with it in that.
S1 (19:31):
What would you say to parents who are maybe nervous
about their blind or vision impaired children cooking and creating meals?
S4 (19:37):
A lot of parents tell their children, Oh, you can't
do that now. Don't even attempt to try that. And
that's fine to do that to your child. But, you know,
15 years or ten years time from now, he or
she is going to stand on their own feet, make
their way in life. And, you know, and mum and
dad's not going to be there to do it. So
better to prepare them, mentor them and prepare them for
(19:59):
what's ahead in the future. I mean, it's not quite
as scary if you know what's coming or what's ahead
of you, you know?
S1 (20:05):
So are there any simple activities that that kids can
do with their parents to to learn about cooking or
learn about preparing food?
S4 (20:13):
Oh, look, they can they can cook it with their
parents at home and that. But I'm just not sure
how patient the parents would be. It could turn them
off for life.
S1 (20:23):
And it depends. I guess it depends on how good
of a cook the parent is because it might turn
them off a lot for that as well. And thank
you so much for joining us today. I wish you
all the best with the blind chef. The conversation doesn't
have to stop here. Share this podcast episode on social
media and start a conversation with your friends, family and followers,
(20:46):
or tell us what's on your mind. You can provide
feedback through the email Career podcast at Vision Australia Talk
The Career Path Podcast series is available to download via
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(21:06):
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radio network. Thanks for traveling with us along the career path.
Hello and welcome to the Career Path. A recent report
from Sweeney and Vision Australia revealed that 83% of employers
surveyed lacked confidence in hiring someone with a vision impairment.
With this podcast, we hope to delve further into this
issue by speaking to job seekers, employers and employees to
hear their perspectives. Each episode will be available to download
(00:39):
as a podcast, just go to Vision Australia org and
type the career path into the search engine to find
our webpage where you can listen to other episodes and
subscribe to make sure that you don't miss any. Hi,
I'm your host, Belinda Wilson. This episode of The Career
Path features two guests Anoushka Singh and the blind chef
(00:59):
Ian Edwards. First up is Anoushka. Anoushka is a legally
blind job seeker, blind sports ambassador and contact centre officer. Anoushka,
thank you so much for joining us.
S2 (01:12):
Thank you for having me, Belinda.
S1 (01:14):
Anushka, you discovered that you had a vision impairment at
a young age. What was it like trying to navigate
a new school and country with a vision impairment?
S3 (01:23):
Just to give.
S2 (01:23):
You a bit of information about myself, I came to
Australia when I was 6 or 7 years old. We
migrated from India and my parents were offered a job
twice and the second time they just decided to take
the opportunity. So here I am today. In terms of language,
language has never been a barrier because English has always
been my first language. But in terms of schooling, it
was really challenging for me. I had all sorts of
(01:46):
wild experiences because I was the first person in my
school who had a vision impairment, so it was really
hard to navigate a new environment and a different school.
But as the years passed by, the experience was much
more smoother just because of the awareness. And I had
to educate my teachers with my disability. So towards the
end of the years, the process was much more smoother.
S1 (02:07):
So when you were in school, what types of careers
were you interested in exploring?
S3 (02:11):
When I was a kid, I really wanted to.
S2 (02:13):
Become a doctor. So as the years passed by, as
I started growing, I realized, well, that is something which
I won't be able to accomplish because being a doctor
would entail a visual element. And that is something which
is going to be really hard for me. Then I
thought to myself, Well, what is something else I can do?
And what does like why I want to become a doctor?
And then I thought to myself, I want to become
(02:34):
a doctor because I want to help others. I want
to help the community. Well, I can do the same
by being a social worker. I can help our community.
I can help people who have disability. So that's that's
where it led to be a social worker.
S1 (02:48):
So this led you to study a Diploma of Community Services.
What was that experience like for you?
S3 (02:53):
Well, at the start it was.
S2 (02:55):
Really challenging because it was pretty much like my school.
I was the first person who had a vision impairment,
so I had to spread that sort of awareness, educate
my teachers. I had to wait for semesters just to
get everything converted into a digital format. So it was
really challenging for myself. But as the years passed by,
with the awareness and the education, things started changing and
(03:17):
it was a much better and a smoother process. And
towards the end of my studies, I was also awarded
the Student of the Year award 2018, where I was
given $1,000, which was really encouraging for myself.
S1 (03:29):
You have a vision impairment that is not immediately obvious
to others. What sort of encounters have you had as
a person with a hidden disability?
S3 (03:37):
Well, I've had.
S2 (03:38):
All sorts of wild experiences.
S3 (03:40):
Because it's really.
S2 (03:41):
Hard when you have a hidden disability. You have so
many challenges because people in our community have that sort
of a stereotype that if you have a vision impairment,
you'll be holding a cane or using a speech software. However,
with myself, I don't use any sort of aides or
equipment when I'm out and about in the community. So
it's really challenging for me. But in terms of encounters,
(04:02):
I've had so many encounters, like spending time with myself.
I love going out in a restaurant and spending time
with myself. So if I go in a restaurant, people
are going to be like, It doesn't seem that you
have a vision impairment if you're asking for help or
if you are asking them to read the menu. And
these sort of encounters I have almost every now and
then I did actually give a call to my bank
(04:25):
last week and I requested them to just get some
of the format converted into a word document instead of
a PDF because my screen reader doesn't pick up the
PDF document. And then I got a response from a
bank saying that, Oh, you sound so normal. And I
wanted to react saying that what does my speech has
to do with my vision impairment? And then people have
these sort of stereotypes, like if you have a vision impairment,
(04:47):
you wouldn't follow any sort of fashion trends. Like for myself,
I love wearing heels, I love dressing up. But people
have a conception that if you have a vision impairment,
you don't tend to follow such things. And then every
now and then I would say almost on a monthly basis,
I just get that sort of response that, Oh, have
you ever shown to an eye doctor? Probably, you know,
you can get some sort of spectacles which are on
(05:10):
a high powered side. And then I always like I've
started replying back saying that, Oh, thank you so much
for letting me know because my parents never thought about this.
You know, it's been 25 years. My parents never thought
about that. So thank you so much.
S1 (05:22):
I think I'm going to start using that answer as well.
I think that's a great answer. You've been involved in
a lot of volunteer activities. Can you share your experience
with us?
S3 (05:32):
Sure. So I would.
S2 (05:33):
Say volunteer work is really important because it just gives you.
A real taste of the work environment. It helps you
acquire new skills and knowledge. So I have worked in
an organization called Blind Spots Recreational Victoria, so that's the
place where I did my first student placement. And then
I've done my second student placement, which was in Virgin Australia.
(05:54):
So volunteer works. It just helps you to be a
better person in terms of a professional person.
S1 (05:59):
After you completed your diploma, you started the Career Start
program with Vision Australia. Can you tell us what is
the Career Start program?
S3 (06:08):
Sure.
S2 (06:08):
So your Career Start program, It's a 12 month program
which consists of a nine month student placement, which is
paid in internally. It's a nine month placement where people
just work in within Australia for nine months and it's
a paid placement for the rest of the three months.
It's an external placement in an external organisation. So yes,
(06:28):
I completed my career start program in the month of
March this year, so I'm really thankful to be in
Australia to give me that sort of an opportunity and
platform because I did learn a lot. I did acquire
a lot of skills and knowledge and I was also
able to accomplish one of my goals, which was to
purchase a property at the age of 24. So really,
thank you so much in Australia for giving me that
(06:50):
sort of an opportunity and it helped me accomplish my goal.
S1 (06:53):
You've also recently started a position as a blind sports ambassador.
What are you going to be doing in that role?
S3 (06:59):
So with Blind Spots.
S2 (07:00):
Recreational Victoria, it's a statewide organization which promotes health and
wellbeing of people having vision impairment or blindness by offering
recreational and sporting activities. So yes, I am their ambassador
and I'll be supporting that organization in the best way
possible by presenting them in different councils and just doing
a bit of TED talks, public speaking. So I have
(07:22):
been a great supporter of blind sport because that's where
I started my first placement and they were the ones
who gave me that sort of a platform to establish
my career. So I'm really thankful to blind spots and
I just want to give it back to the blind
sports recreational organization in the best way possible.
S1 (07:38):
So you're currently working part time as a contact center officer,
but you're actively job seeking. What sort of role are
you looking for?
S2 (07:47):
Yes, sir, I'm working part time. And in terms of
job seeking, I'm looking for some sort of roles which
would entail working in client services because I love working
with people, as I mentioned earlier, and just spreading that
sort of awareness, educating people in terms of disability. So
I'm also looking for some platforms where I would get
an opportunity to educate and just educate people because that
(08:09):
sort of awareness, it has to be there. Like, you know,
when you have a hidden disability or if you have
a disability. So just to just to break those sort
of stereotypes. So I'm looking for such opportunities.
S1 (08:20):
That sounds great. So what future goals do you have?
S3 (08:24):
So in terms.
S2 (08:24):
Of my professional goals, I really want to become a
team leader. That's one of my short term goals. And
in terms of my personal goals, I want to write
a book about my role model, and I also want
to spread, as mentioned, awareness and educate people. If a
person has a hidden disability, what sort of support and
assistance we require.
S1 (08:43):
So any future goals in terms of fashion or modelling.
S3 (08:47):
For sure, Yeah.
S2 (08:48):
If I do get an opportunity, I would really want
to become a model or even do a fashion show.
That is something that's one of my personal goals for sure.
S1 (08:57):
And so you said that you wanted to write a
book about your role models. So who are your role models?
S2 (09:02):
My grandpa is a rebel. He's my role model. He
has always been my role model and he has shaped me,
Whoever I am today. It's because I've always seen him,
the hard work he has done, and he's a self-made person,
so he has always motivated me and how much I
have seen him like he has done for the community.
He has always taught me and my family members to
(09:22):
always give it back to the community selflessly. So that
is something which I've learned from him. And I always
feel that, you know, our grandparents are a role model
and because there are roots. So that is.
S3 (09:33):
Something which I've.
S2 (09:34):
Always seen in him and I've learnt from him. If
you have the willpower, the right intentions and an honest heart,
you can achieve anything in life. So again, even in
terms of my disability, he has always supported me and
because of him today I wear my vision impairment as
a crown, so I really thank him.
S1 (09:52):
What advice would you give to employers about recruiting or
hiring someone with a vision impairment?
S3 (09:58):
So the advice I would give, I would say if
we have the right.
S2 (10:01):
Technology and the right support and assistance from employees, we
can achieve anything. We can just through our work as
a sighted person. But we do need that sort of
additional support and assistance from the employees and just that
sort of extra understanding. So if we have the right support,
we can definitely perform a tasks and duties and just
(10:22):
I would say we always turn our disability into an ability.
S3 (10:25):
So just give us a.
S2 (10:27):
Chance and I'm sure we can prove you.
S3 (10:29):
Wrong. Well, there.
S1 (10:30):
You have it. That was Anushka jobseeker ambassador, model, fashionista, and.
Someone with great ties to the community who has a
very strong grandparent who is her role model. Thank you
so much for joining us today, Anushka, along the career path.
S3 (10:45):
My pleasure. Thank you so.
S2 (10:46):
Much for having me.
S1 (10:48):
Our next guest is Ian Edwards, otherwise known as the
Blind Chef. Ian, you have a very interesting story. You
worked as a chef for 30 years before losing your
sight and then you continue to work as a chef.
Can you please share with us your story?
S4 (11:02):
Yes, it was interesting. My story started probably 5 or
6 years ago where I had a detached retina complication
set in when they reattached it. And it left me
legally blind in both eyes, even though only one retina
dropped off. From then on, I had to give up work,
give up everything. I did a career that for 30
years that I had done, I had a year off,
nearly went mad, and we came up with a project,
(11:24):
The Blind Chef, which enabled me to get back in
the kitchen to do what I love doing and during
this process found a lot of people with vision, impairment
or disability that would love to have a go at
a career in it, but unable to get anyone to
give them a start.
S1 (11:40):
You made a really interesting decision because a lot of
people would not have decided to continue as a chef
and maybe would have looked at other careers. So what
made you decide to continue as a chef?
S4 (11:51):
Chef is the only thing I've ever done all my life.
And as people know, chefs are bad tempered, They're impatient,
and trying to train me to do something would be
a nightmare. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. So basically
I went back to all I knew, but it was
different because I had to reevaluate a kitchen and retrain myself,
you know, with low vision to continue the career that
(12:12):
I loved.
S1 (12:13):
So in order to retrain yourself, what were some adjustments
that you needed to make to work in a kitchen?
S4 (12:19):
The main adjustments were to find out what was hot
and what was not. But, you know, once you familiarize
yourself with surroundings and that and being my own boss
and allowed me to do that, I mean, I still,
for a little while tried to work in somebody else's kitchen.
But when it's fast paced with somebody else, call on
the shot. It was very difficult for me to keep
(12:40):
up and like, you know, I'd read a docket with
magnifiers on and then I'd read it again and I'd
have to ask somebody what hell was on table five,
you know? And I couldn't do it. It just it
was unfair to me and unfair to them. So hence
that's why we started the Blind Chef.
S1 (12:54):
So just a quick question. How did you determine what
was hot and what was not in the kitchen?
S4 (12:59):
The only way to do it, catch it. I see
shapes and colors, but no detail whatsoever. I'd walk into
a kitchen and I see the big silver thing of
the is that the oven and I checked. Yep, that's it.
But it's easy. And the only thing I still have
trouble with. There's two things I have trouble in the kitchen.
One is with cooking, it's chicken. And I have a
second chef who she's like the co-pilot. And I say, Look,
(13:20):
you know, how's this look? Yeah, that's cooked, right? Because
I can't see the pink or the chicken. You know
what I mean? Steaks are different. They're easy. But that
side of it and the depth of a pair of
tongs in a deep fryer, I've snipped the end of
my fingers many times.
S1 (13:34):
Ian, what got you interested in cooking and what steps
did you take to become a chef?
S4 (13:40):
Oh, look, my mother was a cook. She was a
very good hotel cook and a phenomenal cook in desserts
and stuff, so I probably got it from there. I
didn't think so at the time, but look, I didn't
think that was my calling either. But I moved from
a country town to Newcastle and prior to that I
worked with my brother and sawmill and that type of thing.
But when I got to Newcastle there were no sawmills,
(14:03):
there was like restaurants and things, and I thought, Oh,
what am I going to do? I applied for a
kitchen hand job and the lady boss said to me
about three weeks after I started, Would you like to
be an apprentice? I said, Oh, no, no. But she said,
I think it should be. And yeah, So I became
an apprentice and the rest is history.
S1 (14:22):
How did you create the Blind Chef Bistro?
S4 (14:25):
The first club at Uluru that we took on? I
went down there and I got out of the car
and my partner said to me, What are you doing?
I said, Oh, it's going to let me speak in
the car. You're with me. It's all right. She cares
what and when you start cooking and pull the stick out,
they're not going to notice. And I said, I suppose so.
I went in there, I told them the story I
wanted to do. I wanted to open a business. I
(14:48):
wanted to do affordable meals for the clients I wanted.
But the main important part was to give other people
opportunity to vision impaired people to work. So they sort
of went with my story. I went with that and
it was it came a success basically overnight.
S1 (15:04):
You're really involved with mentoring and training the blind and
low vision community, How to Cook. What advice would you
give for people who are interested in entering the hospitality
or food service industry?
S4 (15:15):
The advice I give them is one is don't take
no for an answer and two is it won't come
knocking on your door. You've got to knock on it.
I know how hard I found it knocking on doors
to get assistance. When it was time for me to
head back into a kitchen, I just. There was nothing surprising. Surprising?
In this day and age, everybody says everything's inclusive. Everything is.
(15:36):
But when it really comes to the push, there's probably 1%
of industry that really wanted to help. I mean, around
here where we are in the harbour at Newcastle, it's
surprising now. I mean I don't sort of go anywhere
that I don't get recognised and I think now it's
gained a lot of respect for vision impairment.
S1 (15:54):
So you've helped to raise a lot of awareness for
how people with vision impairments can work in these type
of industries.
S4 (16:01):
That's exactly right. And we've had probably about half a
dozen vision impaired people. Everyone has their own different story
of what they've what their disability is, how much they
can see or vice versa. And you sort of have
to work with them on that and mentoring. But yeah,
the real big thing is bringing up awareness of it
because the biggest problem is the people that assume if
(16:22):
you're impaired or you're blind, you see nothing. You know
what I mean?
S1 (16:26):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of misperceptions about legally
blind and blind and low vision and that there's a
huge spectrum. Not everyone has a dog guide. Not everybody
looks blind, but yet we can all have vision impairments
at different levels.
S4 (16:43):
Yeah, the hardest thing is people misconception of what it is.
You know, they just assume you're blind and that you
can't see anything, so you can't do anything.
S1 (16:53):
Employers may be concerned about hiring people with vision impairments
to work in busy restaurants or kitchens due to concerns
over safety. If you were able to sit down with
these employers, what advice would you give them?
S4 (17:05):
Not to be worried because it's like any able vision person,
you can train anybody. You just have to have time
and train them. I mean, in my kitchen, nothing is marked.
It's not a red spot on this saying, you know,
don't say that. Don't say this doesn't work. People, you
train them. Right. This is here. That's there. And, you know,
(17:29):
please don't go near that until I'm ready to show
you that because that's hot. It comes back to the thing.
You know, they've got common sense as much as anybody
else has.
S1 (17:37):
So it's more about learning the atmosphere and the layout
of the kitchen.
S4 (17:41):
If you do your orientation properly and familiarize every student
with that, there's not a problem. The problem is only
what people put into people's heads or their thinking themselves.
Oh God, I better not let him use that knife.
Who cut his head off? It's a preconception. You're blind.
You can't do anything.
S1 (18:00):
Have you had any issues with safety, with any of
your students or yourself?
S4 (18:04):
None whatsoever. No issues of safety. No issues of anyone
cutting themselves, touching anything hot? Nothing whatsoever. You know, and
we've been doing this project almost four years and we
have quite a busy business and no one has hurt themselves.
No one has had an accident. No one has done
anything like that.
S1 (18:23):
When you mentor people, is it just about cooking or
are there other areas that you mentor them in?
S4 (18:28):
No, no, we mentor them in all of it. Like,
you know, plating up, dishing up. They do all the
salads as well as cooking desserts, serving desserts. You know,
they do everything because other than that, it's tokenism. Oh,
don't let him do that because he might hurt himself. No,
he's going to do it because the one thing people
with disability strive for is to be treated equal. They
(18:50):
want to do it because they've been told all their
life they can't do it. And once they start to
do something different to what they've been doing, they think,
Oh wow, this is good, this is good. I can
go home and cook for mum and dad tonight. They
really enjoy it.
S1 (19:03):
What has been your experience with working with young people,
with mentoring and teaching?
S5 (19:07):
There was a.
S4 (19:08):
Probably about eight mentors at the Vision Australia thing I
did and they were lined up mine to discuss things
and that was huge. I was gobsmacked to think that
this many people are interested in doing it, you know,
And when I say interested, you know, they may never
take up as a career, but they might like to
do a six week course of home school cooking, you know,
(19:29):
And what comes with it in that.
S1 (19:31):
What would you say to parents who are maybe nervous
about their blind or vision impaired children cooking and creating meals?
S4 (19:37):
A lot of parents tell their children, Oh, you can't
do that now. Don't even attempt to try that. And
that's fine to do that to your child. But, you know,
15 years or ten years time from now, he or
she is going to stand on their own feet, make
their way in life. And, you know, and mum and
dad's not going to be there to do it. So
better to prepare them, mentor them and prepare them for
(19:59):
what's ahead in the future. I mean, it's not quite
as scary if you know what's coming or what's ahead
of you, you know?
S1 (20:05):
So are there any simple activities that that kids can
do with their parents to to learn about cooking or
learn about preparing food?
S4 (20:13):
Oh, look, they can they can cook it with their
parents at home and that. But I'm just not sure
how patient the parents would be. It could turn them
off for life.
S1 (20:23):
And it depends. I guess it depends on how good
of a cook the parent is because it might turn
them off a lot for that as well. And thank
you so much for joining us today. I wish you
all the best with the blind chef. The conversation doesn't
have to stop here. Share this podcast episode on social
media and start a conversation with your friends, family and followers,
(20:46):
or tell us what's on your mind. You can provide
feedback through the email Career podcast at Vision Australia Talk
The Career Path Podcast series is available to download via
our website. Just go to Vision Australia org and type
the career path into the search field to find our
webpage where you can listen to other episodes benefit from
(21:06):
a range of resources and subscribe to ensure you don't
miss any episodes or find us on your favourite podcast platform.
Remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates
and bonus content, Facebook.com slash radio network and twitter.com slash
radio network. Thanks for traveling with us along the career path.
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