About Me — David Harford. A reintroduction of sorts from the…
By: David Harford
Tags: Introduction, Chefs, About Me, Hello World, Life

About Me — David Harford

A reintroduction of sorts from the new-ish me

I have seen a few stories on Medium of late where people have been writing an introduction about themselves after joining. I never did that when I started writing here, and even if I had, the things I would have written about myself would have been incorrect. I have been lying to myself as well as everyone else — and only now have I come to see the truth.

I have been on Medium for quite some time now but have struggled to find my way, mirroring my life of late. I have never been sure of which niche to publish in, and as a result, have tried my hand at many subjects with varied results.

About me

I am a chef and have been for many years, apart from a six-year break of which I tried to be something I wasn’t.

I have worked in various kitchens from big chain hotels to smaller boutique hotel kitchens. And from there into fine dining and Michelin starred restaurants, and even small scale high-end catering. But after twenty or so years, I lost my way and gave up cooking. I had lost the love; the passion no longer flowed through me. I decided that I needed a change. I wanted to ditch the many weary hours on my feet in a somewhat toxic environment, with copious amounts of stress to deal with and work a desk job. I longed to sit rather than stand, and I assumed it would be less stressful — I’d be able to drink a cup of coffee and savour it rather than guzzling it down in a fleeting moment before it got cold. It was a case of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ kind of situation, and obviously, it didn’t turn out how I thought it would. I was miserable. At first, the relief of being away from the kitchen was exhilarating, especially when I was doing my own thing, but that soon wained and reluctantly I got a job working for a social media management company who demanded a lot, more than I was capable of giving.

What I didn’t realise was that I was trying to find the new me, trying to forge a different path away from the kitchen, which up until this point was all-encompassing. I told myself I wanted to do something else, a job where I would be much happier and less stressed when, in actuality, it made the new me withdrawn and depressed.

I tried hard not to see it. I refused even to consider cooking again. Why? I’m not so sure, probably due to my pride. I had told everyone that that part of my life was over and I would be doing something else. Instead of giving me focus, however, it resulted in the opposite. I felt lost, and it showed, not only in the way I lived my life and the way I was around people but also in my writing on Medium. It’s obvious to say that to write about a subject one has to know all of the intricacies of that subject, and that’s where I fell short. Apart from my story about my depression — one of the only real things I have written on here.

All I was doing was pretending to be something I wasn’t until now that is. I am a cook, a chef. That’s what defines me and what drives me, it’s the only thing I know how to do, and I’m good at it. Not to do it would be a waste. I have an innate passion for food and cooking, and so that’s what I shall be writing about going forward. I hope, in turn, you will be able to see the passion flow through the words on the screen. I don’t pretend to be a great writer, but I hope my love for the subject will carry me through because at the end of the day I do love to write. Writing and cooking are similar in a way, highlighted by this quote from Wolfgang Puck.

“Cooking is like writing. ( … ) Just as there are only so many words ( … ), there are only so many flavours — it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.”

Now I am back in the kitchen, and I couldn’t be happier. Finally, my Medium profile and bio reflect the real me. There is no point trying to hide who you are, cooking and food is as much a part of me as my hair or skin. I was foolish to try and ignore it.