Sherwin Austin has lived all his life in Friendship Village, East Bank Demerara and over the years he has realised his full potential of becoming a trained chef. He is the first chef in the family and he is very proud of his achievement and wishes to serve as a role model for the youths in his community, who says they are not finding jobs. The 35-year-old is a chef attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). When the Pepperpot Magazine met him he was on annual leave and at his uncle’s place in the village.

Austin related that even though he grew up in the community and is well aware that things are not always easy with young people, who are trying to make a start career-wise, he was determined to make it happen for him. The father of three explained that he was working at GPHC but was not a cook then and after he showed interest in the kitchen because he likes to cook he was given a chance to qualify himself. Austin was always fascinated with foods and its preparation and he was encouraged to attend the Carnegie School of Home Economics.

He stated that he was told he can still work and attend classes and that’s what he did and was successful in becoming a chef. Today, he works in the kitchen of GPHC where he prepares from scratch meals for patients at the health facility according to their strict diet based on doctor’s advice. It’s been three years since he has been employed at GPHC and he feels he has accomplished a lot in terms of educating himself in the field he likes. “Everything starts with a vision but then it is no good if you don’t work towards fulfilling that vision and making it a reality,” he said. His advice to the youths, is to do something, start off with a job and work towards becoming career-oriented.

Austin explained that a lot of youths in the village are idle as such, they get into unsavoury things and they need something meaningful to occupy their time. He pointed out that the village is quite large and they have a lot of nightspots and the people would hang out late at the various shops but most people have their own small businesses while others earn by doing different jobs. The Friendship resident reported that it would nice if the youths can have somewhere to go and learn a skill because they can eventually have jobs or have their own small businesses. Becoming a chef was perhaps the best thing that has happened for Austin, who admitted that he has gained a lot of respect by giving same and it feels good.

“You see when you are not working and struggling some people don’t respect you and feel you are nothing but you have to prove them wrong and become somebody,” he said. The idea of becoming a chef was birthed right in his kitchen because he spends a lot of time cooking at home and he had asked himself why not make it a career and after some thought, he was up for the challenge. “This is not something you grasp overnight but it entails working hard and learning every day to become even better and once you can upgrade yourself constantly it will work for you,” he said. Austin added that he has learned quite a lot about diet and has inculcate certain healthy habits in his cooking whereby, he doesn’t use a lot of salt or sugar but likes a spicy mix to his foods.

He related that cooking for sick people is a task because their foods have to be a certain way and a lot of ingredients are not added because of the varying health conditions of the patients who he would cook for. He told the Pepperpot Magazine that everyone has a gift to do something to make their lives better and the onus is on them to find that talent and explore the possibilities.