Guest Post by Jodie | Jo Blogs
This article was found on the SMH website. It
is a very inspirational story of an apprentice chef, Tony Carter, who
has 4 per cent vision in his right eye, no vision in his left and no
peripheral vision. He cannot see up, down or sideways but he can make
out blurred figures and bright colours. Despite this, he has just
joined Atlas Café Restaurant, a busy eatery in Newcastle.
He
says "As a kid, I was always in the kitchen; I spent every night,
weekend and school holiday helping my mum with the cooking and learning
my grandma's secrets for perfect home-made apple pies."
Hired by
the head chef and owner, of Atlas, Bartholomew Connors, worried at
first says "When Tony applied for the job, I spoke to him over the
phone and he said to me, 'There's one problem. I can't see,’ of course
I was taken aback but everyone deserves a fair go.”
His method
of cooking is very different from conventional chefs, Tony cooks meals,
using taste, smell and touch. He memorizes his way around the kitchen
and most of his ingredients are kept in brightly coloured containers
for him to identify them more easily.
He says he’s had some
close calls in the kitchen, though his worst disaster that he can
remember to date is overcooking a steak; sounds as though he does his
job just as well as anyone else could.
Even after being told he
shouldn’t venture into this career by his TAFE teacher, he didn’t let
his vision impairment get in the way of his lifelong dream of becoming
a chef. He had been knocked back from a lot of restaurants and cafés
but he committed himself, until Atlas gave him a chance, which paid off.
I
think the owner of Atlas, Bartholomew Connors, deserves a pat on the
back for not letting stereotypical views get in his way of hiring a
reliable, dedicated chef. More people need to be aware of these types
of success stories to show what people with disabilities are capable of
overcoming with a little patience and trust.
Read the whole story...
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