210: Tarren Camm - A Chef on a Mission to Serve Other Chefs
Does this sound familiar? You've been told to smile more, be more positive, and just act like you're happy to be there, even when you're not. But you're not seeing any positive change in your industry. You're still stuck in the same dead-end job.
"Something has got to give. And hospitality. The service industry in general, outside of chefs, bartenders, waitresses, waiters, et cetera, it's being exposed to the point that it has to change."
Tarren Camm is a chef and hospitality industry professional from Melbourne, Australia. He has worked in kitchens around the world and is now a fitness industry professional.
This is Tarren Camm's story...
Tarren Camm is a chef from Melbourne, Australia. He started his career washing dishes and eventually became a head steward. He then transitioned into working in lower-end pubs and higher-end restaurants. Cramm eventually found his home in cafes, which he says is a great place to deliver quality food at a fair price. He then moved to London to open a Melbourne-style brunch cafe. After returning to Melbourne, Cramm switched to the fitness industry. He now works with chefs all over the world to help them improve their physical and mental health.
In this episode, you will learn the following:
1. The importance of mindfulness and self-care for chefs and other hospitality workers.
2. The challenges of working in the hospitality industry, particularly regarding long hours and physical demands.
3. The potential for positive change in the hospitality industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resources:
Connect with Tarren on:
Chapter Summaries:
(00:00:00) - Tarren Cam is in Melbourne, Australia. It's about 8-10 degrees there. At 7 am, Tarren Cam and his wife give each other half an hour of silence before connecting with each other to create a sacred time of day for themselves and their family. Since he's incorporated the idea of mindfulness into his daily routine, his work has changed.
(00:01:56) - Tarren Cam is a former chef who worked in the hospitality industry. He started at the age of 15, washing dishes in a small town 2 hours away from where he grew up. After traveling around Australia, he applied for an apprenticeship in a restaurant on the other side of the country and got the job. Tarren moved to London and opened a Melbourne-style brunch cafe. Once you get to a certain level, people see you where you're at, and you're diligent and clean. You couldn't have got a better grounding in the industry than to start there. So good on you, man. You're good to yourself.
(00:06:50) - As a young and energetic chef, he threw his body around recklessly and stressed his back out. Now he's aware of the kitchen's physical environment, the importance of posture, and how you're using your body balance. There's a shift occurring in the industry, and he's grateful for COVID 19 Covet has just reopened after a two-week circuit breaker in Melbourne. The service industry, in general, is being exposed to a point where it has to change. The Burnt Chef Project, based out of the UK, is doing an incredible amount of information gathering and studies. RCM wants everybody to win in the hospitality industry. RCM encourages his chefs to focus on being the influence and to listen to each other. He wants to create a team vibe where they look after each other and care for themselves and their health. The first thing I preach is getting your mind right, becoming aware of its patterns, and being aware of who it is driving this vehicle. That is your body. For me, the number of times I tried to get it together and failed was epic because the number one thing wasn't dealt with. Clarity Week is a week-long training for chefs.
(00:23:27) - Terrence is a personal trainer and a chef. He has a new program for his clients called Baby Steps. It's about building a career in health and fitness. Terrence's expertise is human movement. He wants to help his clients to be certain of themselves and take action. Terrence is one of his biggest fans. Terrence is impressed with the way Terrence and his team have built an amazing community in their online kitchen. He believes the industry needs to change and is changing to improve the quality of life for people in the industry.
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Yeah.
Tarren Camm:So originally when I first started to get my message out there and promote
Tarren Camm:what I was doing, I was such a friendly, fluffy . I want everyone to, I want
Tarren Camm:everyone to love me, right, Adam?
Tarren Camm:Um, so I'm gonna write this post about, uh, how beautiful it can be for everyone.
Tarren Camm:Rainbows, lollipops, rose, tinted glasses, all that shit.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:. That was dumb.
Tarren Camm:That got me nothing.
Tarren Camm:The moment I started to speak my truth, the moment I started
Tarren Camm:to speak of my experience.
Tarren Camm:was the moment that I started to get some traction and some belief.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:one in myself and two from the audience.
Tarren Camm:I still see resistance.
Tarren Camm:Absolutely.
Tarren Camm:And I think it boils down to two things.
Tarren Camm:One, I was 12 years in kitchens.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:, who might have speak to somebody that's 25 years in kitchens.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:30 years in kitchens, 40 years even.
Tarren Camm:Right.
Tarren Camm:So there's a lot of that angle.
Tarren Camm:Who are you to tell me that this is the way I should live my life?
Tarren Camm:Who are you baby face boy?
Tarren Camm:This sort of stuff.
Tarren Camm:And you know, you get a lot of attention that way.
Tarren Camm:That's okay.
Tarren Camm:But there's also another angle to it in the sense that there's a resistance
Tarren Camm:that is near permanent from what I believe the industry has been swayed to.
Tarren Camm:, and I do believe that with cooking comes the immediate label for those that know
Tarren Camm:what they're talking about, of what we've already spoken about, of just accepting
Tarren Camm:it, just hardening up, just doing the job.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:and just showing your mouth and getting on with it.
Tarren Camm:Right?
Tarren Camm:Whether you're battling substances, whether you're battling chronic pain,
Tarren Camm:whether you're imbalanced, whether you're short tempered, whether you're depressed.
Tarren Camm:Shut up and get on with the job.
Tarren Camm:And that's how I was brought up in the industry.
Adam Lamb:That's our guest, Taran Cam, founder and head
Adam Lamb:coach, Real chef's movement.
Adam Lamb:He helps chefs avoid burnout and reclaim their energy to
Adam Lamb:live a happy, fulfilling life.
Adam Lamb:And in this episode, he tells us the importance of mindfulness in self-care
Adam Lamb:for chefs and other hospitality workers.
Adam Lamb:And after the break, he'll talk about the potential for positive
Adam Lamb:change in the hospitality industry in the wake of the Covid 19.
Adam Lamb:And about how you can be part of that change.
Adam Lamb:This is Chef Life Radio, serving chefs just like you who wanna enjoy their
Adam Lamb:careers without sacrificing their lives.
Adam Lamb:I'm your host Adam Lamb, and over my 30 year career as a chef in Hospitality
Adam Lamb:Professional, I've coached and mentored thousands of culinary who
Adam Lamb:led lies of contribution community.
Adam Lamb:And authentic leadership.
Adam Lamb:Let me be your guide on this journey together, looking for solutions
Adam Lamb:and perspectives to some of the biggest issues impacting the
Adam Lamb:hospitality industry, our lives and our careers Today, we shall and now.
Adam Lamb:Back to the show.
Adam Lamb:And so we wanna welcome Taryn cam to the show.
Adam Lamb:Welcome my brother.
Adam Lamb:Thanks very
Tarren Camm:much, Adam.
Tarren Camm:It's awesome to
Adam Lamb:be here, mate.
Adam Lamb:And you are where in the world right now?
Adam Lamb:I am in Melbourne, Australia.
Adam Lamb:My gosh, Melbourne, Australia.
Adam Lamb:How hot is it there right now?
Tarren Camm:Not at all, actually.
Tarren Camm:Really?
Tarren Camm:It would be.
Tarren Camm:Eight to 10 degrees out there at seven in the morning, thereabouts.
Tarren Camm:So
Adam Lamb:perfect time of the day.
Adam Lamb:Yeah, every time of the day.
Tarren Camm:You know what, anywhere from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM I'm a very happy man.
Tarren Camm:It's beautiful.
Adam Lamb:One of the day.
Adam Lamb:Well, it's also nice getting up that early because you know, for most of
Adam Lamb:us, the world is still asleep, right?
Adam Lamb:So there's no pulling on us.
Adam Lamb:There's nobody, you know, calling us or emailing us or anything.
Adam Lamb:And it's kind of a nice quiet time to kind of be with yourself, don't you?
Tarren Camm:Absolutely it is . We're in a house with a three year old and a puppy
Tarren Camm:border, colly and a cat and a parrot.
Tarren Camm:So my wife and I make sure we're up at about four 30 or five.
Tarren Camm:Most mornings we give each other half an hour space.
Tarren Camm:No technology, nothing.
Tarren Camm:It is a sacred time of day for us cuz the moment the little one's awake,
Tarren Camm:the circus is awake, right game
Adam Lamb:on.
Adam Lamb:So you actually shut everything else out for half an hour so you can
Adam Lamb:actually get grounded with your bride.
Adam Lamb:I actually
Tarren Camm:do.
Tarren Camm:Yeah, definitely.
Tarren Camm:So even my wife and I, we give our, we give ourselves a half an hour space
Tarren Camm:as well before we, before we connect.
Tarren Camm:So there's a good morning there and then there's like, you do
Tarren Camm:your thing, I'll do my thing.
Tarren Camm:And what I've realized is how much better it is to approach your day that way.
Tarren Camm:And with what we've been doing for a long time there I was managing
Tarren Camm:some face to face PT work as well, and it was a matter of falling out
Tarren Camm:of bed and getting on with the day.
Tarren Camm:And the intentions that you can have for the whole day really do weigh in on that.
Tarren Camm:That start, I believe, and just being able to create that space,
Tarren Camm:that mindfulness, since I've incorporated this a lot has changed.
Adam Lamb:Yeah, and, and we'll get into that in a little bit, specifically
Adam Lamb:around what you're doing professionally, but also this idea, mindfulness.
Adam Lamb:But, uh, I, I know that, you know, you spent some time on the line
Adam Lamb:as well, so you were a chef, you worked in the hospitality industry.
Adam Lamb:You want to kind of give us the kind of thumbnail sketch of.
Adam Lamb:What you were doing and how far you progressed in your career and Absolutely.
Tarren Camm:Absolutely.
Tarren Camm:So I had a post up not long ago, labeled my Life as a chef, part one.
Tarren Camm:And, uh, I was able to explain to, to my audience, shout out to
Tarren Camm:the audience, absolute legends, just how I got into kitchens.
Tarren Camm:And really, to be honest with you, I got into kitchens based on the
Tarren Camm:fact I actually got into my first preference university course that
Tarren Camm:had nothing to do with kitchens.
Tarren Camm:And I had no head on my shoulders to pursue this course, though I pulled
Tarren Camm:myself for at least three months.
Tarren Camm:I fell into a fantastic network of people that were too much fun.
Tarren Camm:Uh, that combined with not having the head on my shoulders, I needed
Tarren Camm:something to fund my social life, not my university life, right?
Tarren Camm:I fell into kitchens and started washing some pots and pans in
Tarren Camm:a small town, roughly about two hours away from where I grew up.
Tarren Camm:Actually.
Tarren Camm:Yeah, to be honest with you, it was great to make money and socialize,
Tarren Camm:and then I thought, Hey, I'm gonna do this on the other side of Australia.
Tarren Camm:Hey, I'm gonna keep doing this for two, three years.
Tarren Camm:I was just a professional kitchen hand, to be honest with you.
Tarren Camm:There was one job there where I even took out a head steward position on an
Tarren Camm:island, and I just loved kitchens and.
Tarren Camm:I'm great with tunnel vision, Adam.
Tarren Camm:I didn't really pay attention to the food being prepared around me.
Tarren Camm:I paid attention to the job I had to do, and at some point traveling around
Tarren Camm:Australia, I realized, hey, I should probably step up what I'm doing here and
Tarren Camm:perhaps take on board what some of these chefs are telling me that I'm working
Tarren Camm:with to get an apprenticeship and Right.
Tarren Camm:It's actually quite funny.
Tarren Camm:I, I was in Darwin, which is the other side of the country, about 4,000
Tarren Camm:kilometers away from where I am now.
Tarren Camm:And I started putting in mock applications for apprenticeships, and
Tarren Camm:there was one I put an application in for where I'm like, I would consider
Tarren Camm:actually going to this interview.
Tarren Camm:Funnily enough, he got back to me the next day and said, When can you come here?
Tarren Camm:So it was 4,000 kilometers driven in about four days and got myself
Tarren Camm:down for the apprenticeship.
Tarren Camm:Never looked back, mate.
Tarren Camm:To be honest with you, I, I had no idea what I was doing.
Tarren Camm:I understood the organization, right, the structure.
Tarren Camm:I think any kitchen hand that does their job properly starts to get the foundations
Tarren Camm:of what a kitchen's actually about.
Tarren Camm:I lost a lot of sleep on how to keep a dishwasher running.
Tarren Camm:I lost a lot of sleep on how to keep things cycling, how to do things
Tarren Camm:normally, and how to not get grilled.
Tarren Camm:And it turned into me working in LA and pubs to start with
Tarren Camm:in the apprenticeship, right?
Tarren Camm:Moving into a higher end restaurant towards the end of the
Tarren Camm:apprenticeship, moving into the land of, Oh my God, I'm qualified.
Tarren Camm:I'm gonna work for everyone.
Tarren Camm:And anyone think I had three or four jobs, which was great.
Tarren Camm:I ended up finding my home in cafes.
Tarren Camm:And for those that aren't aware of Melbourne's cafe
Tarren Camm:culture, it's quite spot on.
Tarren Camm:It's amazing.
Tarren Camm:It's a thing.
Tarren Camm:Yeah.
Tarren Camm:Yeah.
Tarren Camm:You have this opportunity to deliver really, really quality food.
Tarren Camm:At a basic fair and do some half reasonable hours.
Tarren Camm:Those that think cafes are easy are those that really haven't done
Tarren Camm:the 5:00 AM to 6:00 PM shifts.
Tarren Camm:Absolutely amazing.
Tarren Camm:So grateful that I found cafes.
Tarren Camm:I ended up taking my career over to London.
Tarren Camm:I opened up a Melbourne style brunch cafe over there with a, with a fella.
Tarren Camm:That was absolutely amazing.
Tarren Camm:From there, I was back here and running cafes for a few.
Tarren Camm:And, um, I made a switch into the fitness industry not too long after,
Tarren Camm:after touching back down in Melbourne.
Adam Lamb:That's funny.
Adam Lamb:Be first off, I just want to kind of, uh, touch base around washing dishes.
Adam Lamb:You know, that's where I started in the industry.
Adam Lamb:I started when I was 15, uh, washing dishes and it didn't, you
Adam Lamb:know, of course did 15 years old.
Adam Lamb:You don't know what the hell you're doing anyway.
Adam Lamb:Yeah.
Adam Lamb:But you know, this, the steward position that you also applied for.
Adam Lamb:So, you know, part of the mission for Chef Life Radio is also.
Adam Lamb:You know, to talk about all the positions and all the people in
Adam Lamb:the, in the industry and from the lowest rung to the highest rung.
Adam Lamb:And I share the opinion of some smart people when they say, you know, if
Adam Lamb:it wasn't for great stewards, you know, we couldn't get our job done.
Adam Lamb:And the fact that you were kind of focused.
Adam Lamb:On what you needed to do also speaks a lot to your kind of tenacity and grit
Adam Lamb:in that doesn't really matter what you're doing, but it's how you're doing.
Adam Lamb:So this idea that you know you're gonna really apply yourself once
Adam Lamb:you get to a certain level, no man.
Adam Lamb:People actually see you where you're at.
Adam Lamb:And the fact that you're diligent and someone looks at that and says,
Adam Lamb:Oh, maybe this guy's got some skills.
Adam Lamb:I mean, he implies himself, he's diligent, you know, clean.
Adam Lamb:I mean, we could use some of that.
Adam Lamb:So I, I a good onion man.
Adam Lamb:And you couldn't have got a better grounding in the
Adam Lamb:industry than to start there.
Adam Lamb:There are some very specific issues to deal with as far as chefs are
Adam Lamb:concerned in regards to, and I'm not even gonna talk about health or how
Adam Lamb:somebody decides to mitigate their stress, but I'm talking about the
Adam Lamb:physical environment, like you mentioned earlier about bending over a table.
Adam Lamb:You know, I took all that shit for granted.
Adam Lamb:I thought that that's just the way things were in a kitchen and that I had to.
Adam Lamb:Change.
Adam Lamb:And then I went to, uh, we were doing an off premise charity event at a art
Adam Lamb:museum, and the local sushi guys came and they set up a table close to us and.
Adam Lamb:I look down and they're putting number 10 cans underneath the, the, the legs of
Adam Lamb:the banquet table, and then they've got wooden blocks so that they're setting
Adam Lamb:up their cutting boards so that their arms are at a perfect 90 degree bend.
Adam Lamb:They basically changed their environment, so it made it easy for them to do the
Adam Lamb:work, and that was the first time.
Adam Lamb:I'm like, What do you mean you can do that?
Adam Lamb:Like, holy shit.
Adam Lamb:I mean, by that time I'd have my first back surgery, you know, all
Adam Lamb:the muscles in my stomach had.
Adam Lamb:Had basically lost all its tension.
Adam Lamb:So now it's my back going and you know, it's kicked my ass primarily
Adam Lamb:because, you know, as a young and energetic chef, I threw my body around
Adam Lamb:with reckless, abandoned, you know, because you're, at least my story was
Adam Lamb:I was always constantly trying to.
Adam Lamb:You know, run into the breach, you know, to pull the whole thing together
Adam Lamb:and, and move the entire team forward.
Adam Lamb:But somehow there's, you know, in those type of environments, it's all
Adam Lamb:physical and so it was easy for me to get out of shape and stress my body out.
Adam Lamb:And, you know, it's taken me a long time to try to get that back.
Adam Lamb:So I totally get how the environment.
Adam Lamb:Can kind of contribute to some of the issues that chefs have
Adam Lamb:with knees, shoulders, totally.
Tarren Camm:And I think, I think it boils down to those that are naturally gifted
Tarren Camm:in the industry and can use their brain.
Tarren Camm:They can use their brain.
Tarren Camm:For me, I had this fitness base and I had this endless pull of energy and I
Tarren Camm:was like, Okay, if I can just get this thing to bloody cooperate , I'm gonna win.
Tarren Camm:And it took a really long time for my brain to catch up to what my Bo body was
Tarren Camm:willing to do, and much the same as you.
Tarren Camm:I just threw myself around.
Tarren Camm:Yep.
Tarren Camm:I had no regard for posture, for awareness, for balance.
Tarren Camm:I had no regard for it, and my number one strength was I don't care how good
Tarren Camm:of a chef or how good of a kitchen hand anyone is, I can be the best because I'll
Tarren Camm:be the fittest, I'll be the strongest and I'll be the stupidest of my body.
Tarren Camm:Right.
Tarren Camm:Exactly.
Tarren Camm:Yeah, mate.
Tarren Camm:It's not easy to look after yourself at all.
Tarren Camm:And the thing is posture.
Tarren Camm:Awareness of how you're using your body balance.
Tarren Camm:Fantastic.
Tarren Camm:If you can achieve that while you're in the kitchen, you are a wizard.
Tarren Camm:Why?
Tarren Camm:Wow.
Tarren Camm:That's one thing to do it preparing some food.
Tarren Camm:Sure.
Tarren Camm:You can go on a wider stance.
Tarren Camm:You can make your prep area more comfortable.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:, you can do things in sequential order and know you're getting to the service line.
Tarren Camm:Know you're getting to the end of your shift and know you're okay.
Tarren Camm:But the moment you are busy.
Tarren Camm:The moment you are under pressure, right?
Tarren Camm:The moment you are 10 tickets deep, you tell me that you give a
Adam Lamb:shit about your posture.
Adam Lamb:No, man, it's time to, It's time to be all ass and elbows.
Adam Lamb:You know?
Adam Lamb:There is no time to think about anything except, you know, I suck it up.
Adam Lamb:Sunshine, there's there.
Adam Lamb:I don't have time for your problems.
Adam Lamb:I have enough on my own, right?
Adam Lamb:I get a real sense that there is a shift occurring in the industry
Adam Lamb:and thank God for Covid because.
Adam Lamb:I was watching this great documentary on, uh, our public access and, uh, it was, uh,
Adam Lamb:a program about the entire year of covid.
Adam Lamb:Basically when they start in China and they go all the way through each country
Adam Lamb:as it started to spread, and they were talking to this guy in Columbia who worked
Adam Lamb:for the government, was responsible for.
Adam Lamb:Enforcing the treaties that had been written up between the Revolutionary
Adam Lamb:Forces and the government.
Adam Lamb:Very difficult job.
Adam Lamb:And he said, You know, this, this is the thing about Covid.
Adam Lamb:It's gonna strip everything away and we're gonna, we're gonna see what kind
Adam Lamb:of society we actually live in, and you know, whether it's gonna be a cooperative
Adam Lamb:environment, whether people are gonna come together and help one another, or
Adam Lamb:it's just gonna cause tensions to fray.
Adam Lamb:And so I'm grateful that we.
Adam Lamb:All had to kind of go through this in order to become aware of, like
Adam Lamb:strip away all the pretension and just go, Okay, so this is what it is.
Adam Lamb:Okay.
Adam Lamb:I get, It's not cool.
Adam Lamb:I guess I, I know that there's work to be done, but at least we know what work
Adam Lamb:we need to do now, and for the culinary and hospitality industry, you know,
Adam Lamb:there's been systemic problems for a long, long, long, long time that everybody
Adam Lamb:just thought, Hey, you know, we'll just.
Adam Lamb:Suck it up because that's the way it is.
Adam Lamb:And uh, it reminds me of when the millennials started coming into the field.
Adam Lamb:You know, some of the older chefs would be pissed off, like, you
Adam Lamb:know, they're asking for too much.
Adam Lamb:They want, you know, they wanna be a stakeholder, they
Adam Lamb:want Fridays off, da da da da.
Adam Lamb:All this different kind of crazy shit.
Adam Lamb:And I thought, well, When we were young, we wanted the same things too.
Adam Lamb:We just didn't think that it was gonna happen.
Adam Lamb:So we just, we shifted our, our perception and our expectations and like, Okay,
Adam Lamb:I'll, I'll never have another Sunday off and I'll probably miss my kids'
Adam Lamb:birthdays and you know, that's just the way it is in the industry and.
Adam Lamb:Just because that's the way it was, doesn't necessarily mean that's the
Adam Lamb:way it needs to be moving forward.
Adam Lamb:I mean, the whole idea of like mental and physical health awareness and doing
Adam Lamb:things daily to be able to mitigate that stuff or at least connect with
Adam Lamb:somebody and say, Listen, I can see that you're struggling right now.
Adam Lamb:Uh, do you wanna have a conversation?
Adam Lamb:And where does someone turn when they need some?
Adam Lamb:Information, you know?
Adam Lamb:Absolutely.
Tarren Camm:That's really well said.
Tarren Camm:Made, and as much as C'S been a heartbreaker and it has been for so
Tarren Camm:many businesses and, um, it continues to be so over here in the, in Melbourne
Tarren Camm:right now, we've just reopened after a two week circuit breaker.
Tarren Camm:That's what they call it.
Tarren Camm:All businesses shut traces down, everything opens.
Tarren Camm:Again, in theory it works.
Tarren Camm:What's it doing?
Tarren Camm:What is it doing to businesses and businesses that are just trying to
Tarren Camm:get their feedback on the ground?
Tarren Camm:On top of that, we probably had a bit of a, a bit of a slip up, and I think
Tarren Camm:it's a similar situation over in the States in that people were looked after
Tarren Camm:during the time of being unemployed.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:financially by the go.
Tarren Camm:Chefs saw something else.
Tarren Camm:They saw that maybe these hours, maybe x amount of exploitation,
Tarren Camm:maybe what's normal in the industry needs a new fricking normal.
Tarren Camm:And we've had a mass exodus and that's felt everywhere, and it's heartbreaking.
Tarren Camm:But the only thing that really gives me any solace in the whole situation, Is that
Tarren Camm:something's got to give and a hospitality, The service industry in general,
Tarren Camm:outsiders, chefs, bartenders, waitresses, ERs, et cetera, it's been exposed.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:to a point that it has to change.
Tarren Camm:And as much as it's a fight now, as much as it's heartbreaking to see,
Tarren Camm:some of the guys I'm working with are doing 80 to a hundred hour weeks.
Tarren Camm:Yeah.
Tarren Camm:It's brutal, man.
Tarren Camm:They are absolutely on their last legs.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:There's hope that there's change, that there's reform
Adam Lamb:more equitable and sustainable Man.
Adam Lamb:For sure.
Adam Lamb:And it's gotta be for everybody.
Adam Lamb:You know, the, the Burnt Chef project, which is based out of, uh, the uk,
Adam Lamb:they're doing an incredible amount of informational gathering and studies, and
Adam Lamb:what they've been able to discover is that of all the folks who have left the
Adam Lamb:industry, there's like 40% of them that are considering coming back at some point.
Adam Lamb:like once.
Adam Lamb:Once you're in that space and once you're in that environment and the connection
Adam Lamb:that you feel, not only with what you're doing with your hands, but also your heart
Adam Lamb:and everybody that you're around, that's hard to replace in any other industry.
Adam Lamb:You know?
Adam Lamb:I mean, you can go out and try to, you know, be a project manager
Adam Lamb:and do all these other things because the skillset scale.
Adam Lamb:Yet, You know when your heart's in the kitchen, your heart's in
Adam Lamb:the kitchen, ? I tried to leave, God damnit, and I ended up coming
Adam Lamb:, Tarren Camm: to be honest with you, mate.
Adam Lamb:Yeah, there are, there are still elements.
Adam Lamb:I barely have time to cook these days, so when I do, it's a special time.
Adam Lamb:But there are times where I am just like, Shit, I could get the wives back on.
Adam Lamb:My God, I could pull those lives out.
Adam Lamb:This would be great.
Adam Lamb:And we actually have, within the work I'm doing, we do a
Adam Lamb:couple group zooms, so mm-hmm.
Adam Lamb:, There's one in particular at around 2:00 PM Australia and Eastern Time
Adam Lamb:where we all jump on together.
Adam Lamb:And this one's targeted at the chefs that I work with being
Adam Lamb:over in States and Canada.
Adam Lamb:And it's a really good time for everyone to get on board.
Adam Lamb:They just finish service so they're able to, they're able to rock up, um, and.
Adam Lamb:What's quite funny is a lot of the Australians and Kiwis still
Adam Lamb:make it to this call except it's 2:00 PM so what are they doing?
Adam Lamb:Yeah, they're in the kitchen getting ready for service, right?
Adam Lamb:So
Tarren Camm:we're here doing a coaching call, having a laugh, hitting some
Tarren Camm:key topics, getting people GED up.
Tarren Camm:And half of the zoom meeting is people running around in kitchens
Tarren Camm:and chiming in every now and then and popping their heads over.
Tarren Camm:And do you know what?
Tarren Camm:That is an excellent feeling and that is where it capitalizes
Tarren Camm:on what you've just had to say.
Tarren Camm:I look at those guys running around in the kitchen, smashing
Tarren Camm:out their service, getting over for a quick hello and just go.
Tarren Camm:My God, you look happy and I will be happy to be there with
Adam Lamb:you.
Adam Lamb:Yeah, I mean, I love the industry.
Adam Lamb:I love the people that are in it.
Adam Lamb:I have some things to say about it and some things that I'm working to, to
Adam Lamb:shift for everybody's benefit because basically I want everybody to win, not
Adam Lamb:just the select few, but this other idea about, you know, if you've got
Adam Lamb:guys who are trying to set up their line before service and they're on
Adam Lamb:your Zoom call, that must mean that you know you're doing something right.
Adam Lamb:This is an excellent time to have your type of conversations about, listen,
Adam Lamb:we gotta think about how we're gonna be able to do this long term, how we're
Adam Lamb:taking care of our bodies and our minds.
Adam Lamb:Because, you know, I hate the conversation that it's a young man's game.
Adam Lamb:You know, that pisses me the fuck off that, you know, I could only really be
Adam Lamb:effective, you know, in my twenties and thirties and my forties, and after that I
Adam Lamb:have to get regaled to, you know, Teaching position or some other bullshit like that
Adam Lamb:because I, I know I can still fucking throw down, I know I can fucking kill on a
Adam Lamb:fucking saute station all night long, but, you know, 21 days in a row, I don't know.
Adam Lamb:Do you know what I mean?
Adam Lamb:So it's a perfect time to have these conversations.
Adam Lamb:Yeah.
Adam Lamb:I.
Tarren Camm:Absolutely.
Tarren Camm:And shout out to the guys that do switch us on, um, during that time.
Tarren Camm:Do you know what, Instead of tunes instead of whatever else is going on, if they
Tarren Camm:can't pay attention, if they're getting ramped consciously or subconsciously,
Tarren Camm:they're still hearing it and every now and then, there's nothing better than seeing
Tarren Camm:them get a break, seeing them finish off the tickets and see all just come over.
Tarren Camm:And it may be that one very client I'm working with watching.
Tarren Camm:Two or three other chefs over the shoulder having a peak.
Tarren Camm:And there's a real pay it forward notion that we're having at the moment.
Tarren Camm:And what I did last week was I actually grabbed one of the chefs
Tarren Camm:I work with, he is from Madison in, how do you say it, mate?
Tarren Camm:Wisconsin.
Tarren Camm:Is that right?
Tarren Camm:Madison, Wisconsin.
Adam Lamb:Yes.
Tarren Camm:It's always a tongue twister.
Tarren Camm:That one for me.
Tarren Camm:, Wisconsin.
Tarren Camm:I think it's because I try and put the end before the S.
Tarren Camm:Yes.
Tarren Camm:And that turns it into the S for me.
Tarren Camm:So anyway, he took a call last week and the reason I made him
Tarren Camm:take the call was because he's an executive across two venues.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:, He has fallen in love with this journey.
Tarren Camm:He has embodied absolutely everything that RCM is about, that I'm.
Tarren Camm:To a degree where I just can't even fathom what this space would be like without him.
Tarren Camm:Right.
Tarren Camm:This is the kind of person he's become and the kind of support
Tarren Camm:he's become in that space.
Tarren Camm:He is pushing this mantra onto everybody that he works with.
Tarren Camm:He is calling people out on their bullshit and saying, Hey, maybe we can try this.
Tarren Camm:He is being suggestive, polite, and emphatic, not autocratic.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:. So he is.
Tarren Camm:Being polite to the people that are taking a shit on their body going.
Tarren Camm:Since I started doing this, I've felt so much better since I started
Tarren Camm:to cut back my cigarette intake since I started to actually be
Tarren Camm:mindful of how I'm using my body.
Tarren Camm:He is pushing this on, so I actually pressed to him last week
Tarren Camm:and said, You're taking this call.
Tarren Camm:This call's called being the influence.
Tarren Camm:We spoke about the ripple effect that we can have within the industry
Tarren Camm:in the fact that maybe there's one chef that I'm working with that's
Tarren Camm:in a brigade of 30 other chefs, and can you spread that awareness?
Tarren Camm:Can you call out a bit of bullshit?
Tarren Camm:Can you create a team vibe where you guys are looking after each
Tarren Camm:other, taking care of yourselves?
Tarren Camm:And I think you've said it very, very well to love to remember it.
Tarren Camm:I, I read up on your website pretty hard last night, but it, it's more,
Tarren Camm:it's more about family than it
Adam Lamb:is about fuck off.
Adam Lamb:Yeah.
Adam Lamb:Fuck you.
Adam Lamb:Yeah.
Adam Lamb:More family and less fuck you, less
Tarren Camm:Love that.
Tarren Camm:I, I was up a little bit too late
Adam Lamb:browsing.
Adam Lamb:That's okay.
Adam Lamb:But see, that's, that's that, that's interesting the way that you are actually.
Adam Lamb:If you're working with the leaders, then the leaders have an ability to influence
Adam Lamb:their particular sphere of influence.
Adam Lamb:Right.
Adam Lamb:And speaking of my own experience, I can't tell you how many times I've told
Adam Lamb:people, uh, roll your shoulders back.
Adam Lamb:Right.
Adam Lamb:Because they're all hunched over.
Adam Lamb:I'd love it if you could kind of run down for me three or four or
Adam Lamb:five of the core tenants of RCM that you think are most important.
Adam Lamb:As far as the hospitality industry is concerned,
Tarren Camm:it's all down to this.
Tarren Camm:This is stage number one,
Adam Lamb:so you're talking about your mind.
Tarren Camm:Yeah.
Tarren Camm:What I, Oh yeah.
Tarren Camm:Sorry, I'm not on camera.
Tarren Camm:That's
Adam Lamb:alright.
Adam Lamb:It's all down in the mind.
Adam Lamb:You're on camera, but we're
Adam Lamb:It's okay.
Adam Lamb:Love it.
Adam Lamb:Karen is pointing to his mind.
Adam Lamb:. Tarren Camm: Yeah.
Adam Lamb:Oh my God.
Adam Lamb:That's actually, that's like the sign language equivalent.
Adam Lamb:That's cool moment.
Adam Lamb:Um, so for me, the amount of times I tried to get it together, the amount of
Adam Lamb:times I did what I should to know a men's.
Adam Lamb:Was epic.
Adam Lamb:My Lord.
Adam Lamb:I cannot tell you how many times I tried and failed because the
Adam Lamb:number one thing wasn't dealt with.
Adam Lamb:What's wrong?
Adam Lamb:It's not training and nutrition is it really?
Adam Lamb:It's gonna help you.
Adam Lamb:It's not doing the mobility to get yourself out of pain
Adam Lamb:if you're suffering upstairs.
Adam Lamb:It's also just being able to have clarity and certainty.
Adam Lamb:So the first thing that I preach is just getting your mind right, becoming
Adam Lamb:aware of its patterns, becoming aware of who it is that's driving
Adam Lamb:this vehicle, that is your body.
Adam Lamb:So what I do, for all of the chefs that first come in, we do a Clarity
Adam Lamb:Week and we have a clarity workbook.
Adam Lamb:They go into a mindset portal.
Adam Lamb:We talk about habits, we talk about stories, we talk about belief patterns.
Adam Lamb:We talk about being, just being aware of that internal dialogue.
Adam Lamb:Being able to call things out, being able to get honest with yourself, being able to
Adam Lamb:figure out your actual starting point, not where you want your starting point to be.
Adam Lamb:Right?
Adam Lamb:So the first thing is just getting clarity on the situation where you
Adam Lamb:are, where you want to be, detaching from the outcome and going, Okay,
Adam Lamb:how do we reverse engineer this?
Adam Lamb:From there, we're able to take action.
Adam Lamb:Once a chef feels like they understand their situation in full, they understand.
Adam Lamb:The habits that are serving them, the habits that aren't serving
Adam Lamb:them, and I have some people come into this space that are completely
Adam Lamb:fantastic human beings and just want to tidy their life up a little bit.
Adam Lamb:They go through this stage quite quick.
Adam Lamb:Then we have some other people that are in the woods a lot upstairs and need to
Adam Lamb:recite over this book and need to recite over why they're doing this journey.
Adam Lamb:If you don't have a reason and if you don't understand where you're
Adam Lamb:starting, you're lost from the word go.
Adam Lamb:you can train the house down, you can eat well.
Adam Lamb:Mm-hmm.
Adam Lamb:, you can do some posture, awareness, mobility.
Adam Lamb:It's not gonna get you anywhere without intent and without the right energy.
Adam Lamb:Absolutely.
Adam Lamb:So I get them to channel upstairs first.
Adam Lamb:It's one of the biggest things for me.
Adam Lamb:From there it is about implementing schedule.
Adam Lamb:So I spend an hour onboarding the chefs and I have not had one onboarding
Adam Lamb:call that is similar at all.
Adam Lamb:Right?
Adam Lamb:Mates.
Adam Lamb:So tell me what's your hours split shifts?
Adam Lamb:Straight shifts, graveyards.
Adam Lamb:Where are you at, What are you doing?
Adam Lamb:What kind of level of food?
Adam Lamb:What kind of days off?
Adam Lamb:No days off.
Adam Lamb:Okay, cool.
Adam Lamb:Let's do this.
Adam Lamb:Oh yeah.
Adam Lamb:Three weeks on, one week off.
Adam Lamb:No worries.
Adam Lamb:You're in the minds.
Adam Lamb:Yeah, it's all over the place.
Adam Lamb:Schedule overhaul, clarity, certainty.
Adam Lamb:Start slotting in the little bits that conserve them.
Adam Lamb:It's not about training the house down or eating perfectly.
Adam Lamb:It's then about baby steps, and it has to be.
Adam Lamb:Look at how we started in the industry.
Adam Lamb:We were washing plates, keeping a dishwasher, cycling.
Adam Lamb:We eventually progressed into maybe making a dip or cutting some food
Adam Lamb:thinking it's pretty cool, right?
Adam Lamb:Look at yourself however many years later and what you've achieved.
Adam Lamb:Same approach for health and fitness and wellness of a chef.
Adam Lamb:Here are the workouts, Here are the mobility protocols.
Adam Lamb:Here is the nutrition guideline.
Adam Lamb:Here's how we're gonna slot this in one step at a time.
Adam Lamb:Baby steps.
Adam Lamb:You're not going in the deep end.
Adam Lamb:You're doing this slowly.
Adam Lamb:You're doing this so that you can have positive repetition and build
Adam Lamb:a belief that you can do this.
Adam Lamb:Some of the guys enter into the program doing 10 minute workouts,
Adam Lamb:doing uh, two walks a week.
Adam Lamb:Sure.
Adam Lamb:Making more conscious health decisions, rocking up to a group call baby steps.
Adam Lamb:Just baby steps.
Adam Lamb:And from there we look to build your career.
Adam Lamb:That's what I call it cuz it's the same timeline as as being a chef in
Adam Lamb:that you progress slowly and surely.
Adam Lamb:We look at building your career in health and we slowly but surely tweak it.
Adam Lamb:We have weekly reflections, weekly accountability check-ins.
Adam Lamb:We make sure that they feel as if they're getting the ticks.
Adam Lamb:They feel as if they're getting the positive repetition.
Adam Lamb:I am an absolute fend for torturing people with benefit.
Adam Lamb:I love putting people through absolute pain to pull out of their miseries.
Adam Lamb:I can't flick that switch until there's a foundation built
Adam Lamb:until the baby steps are made.
Adam Lamb:For every chef that I've worked with, I understand how unique it is to
Adam Lamb:deal with each and every individual.
Adam Lamb:There is no cookie cutter system, right?
Adam Lamb:There is no single one protocol that anyone follows.
Adam Lamb:However, mindfulness certainty, action repeat over and over and over again.
Adam Lamb:The certainty grows.
Adam Lamb:Mm-hmm.
Adam Lamb:, the action gets more challenging.
Adam Lamb:I've had some guys come in that are doing, like I said to you, 10
Adam Lamb:minute circuits here and there.
Adam Lamb:There's one chef that is now gone from doing something like this.
Adam Lamb:He's now four times a week in the gym.
Adam Lamb:Loves boxing, loves going for a run.
Adam Lamb:Absolutely killing it in the kitchen.
Adam Lamb:The team and the venue.
Adam Lamb:I think they would maybe give me a hug, , because he was the gries man in
Adam Lamb:the world, the griest man in the world, and he is just killing it at work,
Adam Lamb:at home, happy energy, and realizes service can be done with a smile.
Adam Lamb:Well, uh, the, the things that you're bringing up to me as, as you're
Adam Lamb:describing the program, It seems like, and you can correct me if I'm wrong,
Adam Lamb:but it seems like, uh, the physical part of it is basically just an excuse in
Adam Lamb:order to do a lot of this deeper work.
Adam Lamb:You know, you talk about certainty, there's gotta be confidence, there's
Adam Lamb:gotta be, you know, uh, the knowledge that, you know, even though it might
Adam Lamb:be difficult, that you can actually persevere if you put in the work.
Adam Lamb:All these things, which have gotta be.
Adam Lamb:You know, applicable over every single part of their life, and not
Adam Lamb:just necessarily on the physical, but that's not necessarily the way
Adam Lamb:that you pitch this program, right?
Tarren Camm:No, it's not.
Tarren Camm:And, and to be honest with you, I mean, my expertise is human movement.
Tarren Camm:My expertise is being able to provide healthy guidelines and to help these
Tarren Camm:people to be certain with themselves and take action that benefits them.
Tarren Camm:Right.
Tarren Camm:, unfortunately, and unfortunately as a coach, as a personal trainer,
Tarren Camm:as a previous chef, you find out a lot of things about their life.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:, you listen to a lot of stuff.
Tarren Camm:Some stuff you're not necessarily qualified to give advice on,
Tarren Camm:and nor would I ever mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:. However, I gotta know that stuff cuz that's the stuff that's stopping you from
Tarren Camm:taking the action I want you to take.
Tarren Camm:Right.
Tarren Camm:How do we deal with those deeper level things that perhaps a counselor or a
Tarren Camm:psychologist should be taken care of?
Tarren Camm:Well, in my eyes, there is nothing more powerful than multiple perspective.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:, I can give perspective based on you taking action that serves you.
Tarren Camm:However, there is nothing more powerful than having 45 to 50 chefs from around
Tarren Camm:the world together on a Zoom call, and we're all just shooting the shit together.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:, we're all speaking from experience, different walks of life,
Tarren Camm:different parts of the world.
Tarren Camm:. And as much as I believe movement is medicine, the main medicine here is
Tarren Camm:the way that these guys have wrapped around each other as a family, right?
Tarren Camm:The community, Something as simple as a post, Hey, like, Guys, I'm
Tarren Camm:dealing with this at the moment.
Tarren Camm:I dunno how to do it.
Tarren Camm:Hey, I'm stepping into a leadership role and I'm completely shitting my pants.
Tarren Camm:How would you guys approach this?
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:. And to wake up in the morning and to open up this group and to see the
Tarren Camm:support, see the camaraderie, see the teamwork, see the love and passion
Tarren Camm:that they've got for each other.
Tarren Camm:Fricking unbelievable.
Tarren Camm:That's where the magic is in my eyes.
Tarren Camm:It is an online kitchen.
Tarren Camm:We're all in there together and we constantly make a joke of the
Tarren Camm:disaster and success we could have if we were in a kitchen together.
Tarren Camm:. Adam Lamb: Well, it sounds like
Tarren Camm:and I for one, you know, I'm one of your biggest fans, man.
Tarren Camm:So I think the work that you're doing is, is essential and imperative and you know,
Tarren Camm:using the physicality as an excuse to.
Tarren Camm:Enter into these other realms around mindset and mindfulness.
Tarren Camm:You know, everybody needs their office, their starting space.
Tarren Camm:So the fact that you're able to, to conjoin these, to be able to produce
Tarren Camm:such fantastic results for these guys.
Tarren Camm:Good on you man.
Tarren Camm:Good on you.
Tarren Camm:Thank you so much mate.
Tarren Camm:I really appreciate you having me on and uh, I just appreciate anyone that is
Tarren Camm:supporting, that is a backbone that is going, hey, What you're doing is real man.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:. Because for every person out there that's giving you a nice little
Tarren Camm:nudge in the right direction, there's also the equal and opposite.
Tarren Camm:Right?
Tarren Camm:And you know yourself with what you are doing.
Tarren Camm:Right now, with what we've done for most of our life, the mantra is persevere.
Tarren Camm:And it makes it that little bit better when you're surrounded by positive people.
Tarren Camm:Exactly.
Tarren Camm:And you've got a positive environment and there is nothing better than
Tarren Camm:seeing the likes of yourself.
Tarren Camm:There's a few other characters out there really benefiting
Tarren Camm:the industry at the moment.
Tarren Camm:And it's gotta keep going.
Tarren Camm:And exactly as much as I understand C'S a disaster, it's a disaster
Tarren Camm:that is exposed, an industry that must change and is changing.
Tarren Camm:And I'm a big believer that the positivity is rising to the top at the
Tarren Camm:moment, and that there are true leaders and there are some true beliefs that
Tarren Camm:can be instilled in this industry.
Tarren Camm:It's in a transformation of its own.
Tarren Camm:Maybe we should take the before picture right now because the afterwards
Adam Lamb:listen it . I think that's a great idea and it's, Yeah, to me it's a
Adam Lamb:huge opportunity right now and, uh, unlike anything that we've ever been able to.
Adam Lamb:Any of us have a seen in our lifetime, but certainly as, as a,
Adam Lamb:as a, as a tradition and as a craft man, we could shift a lot of stuff.
Adam Lamb:We could shift a lot of stuff and it, and not, probably not get everything
Adam Lamb:done, but we can put enough stuff in motion that gives people the confidence.
Adam Lamb:That they can make this a career and not have to fear for themselves or
Adam Lamb:you know, or that they're gonna take, be taken advantage of because we'll
Adam Lamb:have sorted all that shit out by then.
Tarren Camm:Yeah, exactly right.
Tarren Camm:Exactly right.
Tarren Camm:And one of the most important parts of what you said there is the big smile
Tarren Camm:and the laugh right there as well.
Tarren Camm:Mm-hmm.
Tarren Camm:, you're a positive man.
Tarren Camm:You've got some fantastic energy.
Tarren Camm:We need more of this and it needs to be heard
Adam Lamb:around the world.
Adam Lamb:Thanks, Terran.
Adam Lamb:I appreciate you being here.
Adam Lamb:That's it for this episode of Chef Life Radio.
Adam Lamb:If you enjoyed it, it made you think laugh or get pissed off.
Adam Lamb:And please tell a friend.
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Adam Lamb:Forward slash sign up here at Chef Life Radio.
Adam Lamb:We believe that working in a kitchen should be demanding.
Adam Lamb:It just shouldn't have to be demeaning.
Adam Lamb:It should be hard.
Adam Lamb:It just doesn't have to be harsh.
Adam Lamb:We believe that it's possible to have more solidarity and less suck it up sunshine,
Adam Lamb:more compassion, less cutthroat island.
Adam Lamb:We believe in more partnership and less put up, more shut up,
Adam Lamb:more community, and a lot less.
Adam Lamb:Fuck you finally.
Adam Lamb:Consider for a second for all the blood, sweat, and sometimes even
Adam Lamb:tears we put into what we do.
Adam Lamb:Really, at the end of the day, that's just some brown stuff on a plate.
Adam Lamb:None of it really matters.
Adam Lamb:It doesn't define you as a person or make you any more
Adam Lamb:special or less than anyone else.
Adam Lamb:It's just a dance we're engaged in, so we might as well laugh and enjoy
Adam Lamb:every bit of it, even the crappy parts while we're doing it or didn't.
Adam Lamb:You know that the purpose of your life should be to enjoy it, like it.
Adam Lamb:Happy.
Adam Lamb:I
Tarren Camm:love it.
Tarren Camm:I'm humble.
Adam Lamb:Goddamn.
Adam Lamb:Glory Fox don't live on.
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Adam Lamb:Oh yes, Chef stand tall and frosty Brothers and sisters.
Adam Lamb:Until next time, be well and do good.
Adam Lamb:Leave the light on.
Adam Lamb:Honey.
Adam Lamb:I'm coming home late.
Adam Lamb:The show was produced, recorded, and edited by me, Adam Lamb, at the Dish
Adam Lamb:Pit Studios in Baro, North Carolina.
Adam Lamb:This has been a production of Realignment Media.