Sarah Elliot is a Nowra chef who personifies the power of never giving up on your dreams.
And she is using her knowledge to teach a new generation how to excel in the kitchen through an innovative partnership between Civic Disability Services and The Disability Trust.
Sarah has three per cent vision in one eye only but has not only become a qualified chef who works at the Civic Café in Nowra, she is teaching six participants from The Disability Trust about catering and kitchen operations to equip them with the skills for a career in hospitality.
This initiative is not just about acquiring job-related skills, it also plays a crucial role in enhancing the participants’ life skills. The program aims to boost confidence by focusing on essential areas such as knife handling and safe food practices.
By participating in this program, individuals with disability and barriers to employment are learning they can overcome these obstacles.
Sarah’s journey to becoming a qualified chef began in 2017.
“I heard an interview on ABC local radio about a cookery program run by the local PCYC for people who were deemed vulnerable members of our community. I figured that was right up my street,” she explained.
“I’ve always loved to cook. I investigated and figured if I just walk in with my guide dog, they’ll take one look at me and think ‘vision impaired, cook, teach, you’ve got to be joking’, and run a mile. I figured I’d better get credentialed.”
TAFE was running a commercial cookery non-trade course, which Sarah thought sounded excellent.
“I dropped into an open day thinking I would have to fight my way in,” Sarah recalled.
“The then head of faculty and one of their prominent cookery instructors jumped at the challenge and said yes.
“I got bitten by the bug. I loved it. I made the mistake one evening of googling ‘blind chef’ thinking nothing will come up, and it did.
“Two blind chefs, both Australian, one with guide dog and one with cane. And thought if they can do it, I can do it. So the long road to seek apprenticeship began.
“I hit brick wall after brick wall after brick wall. Even if the head chefs were interested, at the larger organisations the risk assessors and lawyers saw vision impairment, chefing, apprenticeship, and ran a mile. All they saw was risk.”
Sarah eventually began her apprenticeship at a Nowra café before the COVID-19 pandemic put everything on hold a few months later.
In 2021 she was studying commercial cookery through a private registered training organisation and her instructor approached Civic about completing her apprenticeship and in May the following year, Sarah made trade.
“I couldn’t believe it. They (Civic) have been incredibly supportive,” Sarah added.
“These guys have given me the opportunity to do what open society says is impossible. And they’ve stood by me. And that means the world.”
Having always wanted to teach, Sarah then completed her Certificate 4 Training and Assessment last year.
Now she gets to impart her knowledge on a bunch of budding chefs through Civic’s partnership with The Disability Trust.
“It was a marriage made in heaven.”
Sarah’s limited vision challenges the participants to engage in verbal communication, as she is unable to pick up on non-verbal cues. The participants have learned to overcome communication barriers and express themselves confidently.
This program not only provides valuable work experience but also fosters a sense of empowerment and inclusivity among the participants. By learning from a skilled chef with disability, they are gaining a deeper understanding of how challenges can be overcome.
“It’s absolutely wonderful. We’ve been working together as a team,” Sarah said.
“Because I’m vision impaired, I can’t see the non-verbals. It causes them to need to rely on their verbal communication skills. Conversely, because I can’t make eye contact, they’re freed from that burden that can be so onerous to so many people with ASD.
“They’re absolutely sensational. They’re learning skills that they will take with them for the rest of their lives.”
Civic café supervisor Mathew Watson said Sarah sits down with the head chef each week to discuss recipes.
“Her offsider Brett will be her scribe and he’ll take the notes and then we will put the recipe together, order in any ingredients we need and then come Wednesday it’s game day,” he said.
“She has a braille printer so she will print off the recipe so she can follow it as well when she’s here in the kitchen.
“Once the guys arrive from The Disability Trust she teaches them to how to make the dish of the day.
“Sarah is a success story for us. When she’s here in the café kitchen where people can see her work, it blows people’s minds. It gives people in the public a realisation that just because someone has a disability, doesn’t mean they can’t achieve anything.”
Having people with disability in your workplace is an asset.
Sarah’s message to employers is to invest in people with disability.
“Come and meet us. Come and see what we do. Allow us to show you what we do,” she said.
“We have fewer accidents. We are more loyal to our employers. We take fewer days absent. We are more committed to our work than our supposedly able-bodied counterparts.
“Having people with disability in your workplace is an asset. A varied team, a diverse team, brings different points of view, different perspectives, different skills into your team environment and makes you better positioned to work with your customer base, the general public, for whom 25% are people with a disability.
“So a lot of companies say, we’d love to but, but, but, but, but, and they run a mile. It’s doable. Get with the program and learn from these guys who are the trailblazers.”
