PAUL BAKER
WITHINDAYSOFENTERINGLOCKDOWN,PAULBAKER ANDHISWIFE
ANNABELLELAUNCHEDADELAIDE’SCHEFSONWHEELS.WHAT BEGAN
ASA TEMPORARY FIX HAS NOW BECOME A PERMANENT NEW ROLE.M
an,I criedthosefirstfewweeks.It was
crazy.I wasscared.Nooneknewwhat
thisthingwas.Asa chef,youthink,
“Well,if it allgoestoshitI canalways
getona planeandgosomewhere.”I’veworked
everywhereintheworld.I’veneverhada problem
gettinga jobinmylife.Allofthatgottakenaway
frommeinonefellswoop.Therewasnowhereto
work.HowdoI makeanincomeformyfamily?
It feltlikeI hadallmylimbscutoff.Therewas
nowayofmoving.That’swhatscaredmethe
most,I’veneverfeltsohelpless.
We startedChefsonWheelsandjustputall
ourenergyintothat.Thereweredaysthatwewere
working 17 or 18 hoursa dayandweweresoworn
down– butit justhadtowork.It wasreallybuilt
outofdesperationanda necessitytocreatea revenue
streamtopaybills.Fromthere,it justtookoff.We
gaveourselvesthreeorfourdaystoprepareand
switcha websiteon.It spreadlikewildfire.The
websitemelteddownonthefirstdayandwehad
moreordersthanwecouldfulfil.Normallyfor
a businesslikethisyouwouldtryandhavea three
to sixmonthsleadin.Butwedidn’thavea choice.
ThedecisiontoleaveBotanicGardens
Restaurantwasmorepersonalthana business
decision.Inhospitality,careercomesbeforefamily
andfriends.It’sveryhardtobalanceyourlifewith
yourjob.GoingbacktoBotanicwouldbegoing
backtowhatI didbeforeandI neededtochange
a fewthings.I wantedtobringbalancebackinto
my life.ChefsonWheelsis obviouslya great
facilitatorofthat.It won’tbemybe-allandend-all
butit’sdefinitelya steppingstone.I wantedto
connectmorewiththecustomersandgoback
tothegrassrootsofwhywedowhatwedo.It’s
tocookforpeopleandtonourishandlookafter
them.I thinkthat’swhatwedidat thestart,we
werelookingafterpeople’ssouls.
Atthestartwesaidwe’rebetterinnumbers
sowehavetoworktogetherasa community.
We’renotcompetitors,we’rehelpingeachother
witha commongoal.Afterthefirstcoupleof
weeks,werealised,“We’vegota business here
that’s going to work for us.”Covid-19pushedustowherewearenowbut
we’vestillgottokeepworkinghardtokeepit going.
Plus,westillneedtobespendingtimewithour
familiesandkeepingflexibilityinourlives.Making
surethosethingsareincheck.Wedon’twantto
leaveourjobstoworkina situationwherewe’re
justbleedingourselvesdrylikewewerebefore.
Ourdaughteris threeandshe’soutofherskin
now.She’sa verysmartgirl(I’mbiased)butwesaw
a massivechangeinherjustfromspendingmore
timewithher,takinghertoschoolandpicking
herupfromschooleveryday.Obviouslywe’restill
workinga lotbuttimeis a lotmoreflexiblewhen
youownyourownbusinessandyoudon’thave
dinnerserviceeverynight.Westillhavetomeet
deadlinesbutit’sa moreflexiblesituation.If she
needsyou,you’rethere.I’vebeentomorekids
partiesthanI’veeverbeentoinmylife.Thatis real
qualitytime.ThatwasthereasonI didn’tgoback.
I lookedinhereyesandthought,“No,I’mnotgoing
back to that. I’ll do it for you.”chefsonwheels.com.au●INTERVIEW JOANNA HUNKIN (PAUL BAKER). PHOTOGRAPHY NIKKI TO (EUGENIO MAIALE) & JAMES KNOWLER (PAUL BAKER).