Does the cheflife have to be this way?
About Love Letters to Chefs
Love Letters to Chefs is an educational platform founded by Ishwariya Rajamohan to empower chefs to aspire towards and achieve a better quality of life. This is for you if you believe that:
The old ways of being a chef are no longer serving us: Our kitchen culture prescribes that everything else besides cooking takes second place, but you know that your work suffers when your health (both mental and physical) is compromised, your relationships are strained, or your kitchen does not offer a supportive work environment. You feel a sense of urgency around creating a sustainable career for yourself.
But what is the new way? Even if you have taken steps to bring positive change into your cheflife or your kitchen, the path is far from easy. Because the industry and our ways of working are not going to change overnight. You have to stay connected to your values in order to navigate this status quo. You will need to get creative and make the most of your circumstances. This is where Love Letters to Chefs comes in – providing guidance, support and resources to help you forge the cheflife or team culture that serves you and your future.
Why Love Letters? Because this work comes from a place of genuine caring for the welfare of chefs. Sign up below to access additional resources:
What you will find here: Workshops, 1-1 support and inspiration, so you can show up to the work you love more powerfully. What we commonly lack as chefs is a blueprint for how we can access work life balance in a demanding profession like ours. Finding balance is about more than just adopting the latest wellness trends or hacks. For us it can start with making small positive changes, even while working on a busy schedule. Love Letters to Chefs hosts regular workshops and webinars to guide you in your journey of finding ways to harmonise your work with your life outside it. If you have a challenge or goal that you need help with, then coaching with Ishwariya will give you the clarity you need to move forward.
All sessions are held online via Zoom and are designed for chefs of all levels. Find details and booking information for upcoming sessions here:
About Ishwariya Rajamohan
Ishwariya gave up a career in architecture to train as a pastry chef and pursue her childhood passion for baking. What she encountered during her experience in London kitchens was that chefs did not always value themselves, their gifts or each other. This seemed to influence every aspect of what it means to be a chef (whether that’s chasing perfection in the kitchen or neglecting our recovery after a shift) and consequently, is at the root of many of the problems that we struggle with today in the profession. She founded Love Letters to Chefs to find answers to the question that arose for her: “Does the cheflife have to be this way?”
Ishwariya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, a Master’s in Environmental Design and a Diploma in Intermediate Patisserie from Le Cordon Bleu, London. She is an accredited coach with the Association for Coaching and a Mental Health First-Aider. She has pursued personal development since her teens and has been fortunate to study with many renowned teachers and coaches such as Caroline Myss, Barbara de Angelis, William Whitecloud, David Neagle and Tony Robbins.
Media
Through her work, Ishwariya questions those aspects of our kitchen culture that we need to re-evaluate – especially the outmoded ways of being and doing that are possibly doing us more harm than good:
Podcast episode on Inspiring Women in Hospitality
Interview on Inspiring Women in Hospitality
For Women in the Food Industry: Work Life Balance for Women in Hospitality: What benefits do we have in our favour when it comes to work life balance in a demanding industry?
For Best Served Podcast: Work Life Balance is not about Having the Perfect Rota: My belief is as a chef you can also aspire to enjoy balance in your life. First, you have to reframe what balance means to you.
For CulEpi: A Pandemic Perspective on Restaurant Work-Life Balance: As someone whose work centres on a better quality of life in the restaurant industry, the first thought that crossed my mind when COVID-19 forced restaurants to close was whether work-life balance still mattered when we’re not working.
For The Staff Canteen: Rethinking Work-Life Balance in Hospitality: Many chefs who start new wellbeing habits struggle to sustain them. Although there is no dearth of wellbeing resources that can help them achieve that, the obstacle here is not simply a lack of solutions.
We’re Chefs, Not Misfits: Anthony Bourdain perfectly articulated that feeling of being a misfit that so many of us identify with. This is the time to rewrite that narrative.
Seeking Stars, Seeking Validation: The headlines about chefs returning their Michelin stars is our call to examine our relationship with validation.
New Millennium Chefs: While our industry struggles with staff shortages, this is hardly the time to polarise chefs based on age or experience.
Will Anyone Stand Up For Female Chefs: What do male chefs stand to gain from not supporting their female colleagues?