"It's not for me in a million years; but, one way of coping through these hard times is...Tiktok."
Despite the financial difficulties thrown his way because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chef Enrique Raposa III continues to crack jokes, cook food and help others how he can with what little he has.
Chef Enrique Raposa III continues to crack jokes, cook food and help others how he can with what little he has. Source: Enrique Raposa III
17 Years
Forced to drop out of culinary school in the Philippines after a six-month stint due to high fees, the Sydneysider could only rely on kitchen experience to get him by.
"I arrived in Australia in 2003. I had no qualifications. I had to start from the bottom and work my way up," Enrique shares. "I started as a kitchen hand, then a dishwasher.
"During that time, it was hard to move up the ranks because chefs were predominantly of European descent. I was a dishwasher for three years."
After three years, the chefs he worked for decided to train him in order to lessen their workload in the kitchen.
"I wasn't formally trained in school at that time. I just learned as much as I could from one place and when I felt that I did, I moved on to another restaurant to learn a different system and cuisine."
"I just learned as much as I could from one place and when I felt that I did, I moved on to another restaurant to learn a different system and cuisine." Source: Enrique Raposa III
While learning different systems and cuisines, Enrique found that while he thrived in fine dining, the high-stress environment had gotten to be too much.
"I wanted to lay low from fine dining, but I wanted to still do something related to food," he shares, adding, "I took a job at a burger place in Bankstown that was more focused on management instead of the day-to-day grind. I wasn't a chef then, but a venue manager."
He worked as a venue manager for the restaurant from September last year until mid-January.
"Our branch in the city was busy, but that didn't carry over to Bankstown. Mid-January hit and COVID-19 cases started getting more press. We were forced to close end of January," he shares. "I lost my job but I took it as a time to rest and reassess if I wanted to go back to fine dining or something else."
"I lost my job but I took it as time to rest and reassess if I wanted to go back to fine dining or something else." Source: Enrique Raposa III
While resting and reassessing, Enrique had applied to jobs and consequently got several trial shifts and job offers.
"Then the pandemic blew up. My offers got cancelled because places stopped their hiring processes. I was stuck pretty much."
Mine is not an isolated case
Being stuck in unemployment didn't mean that his financial responsibilities were put to a halt as well.
"I'm the breadwinner of the family. My mum is incapacitated and can't work. My sister only works as a casual in the post office. I have twin boys in the Philippines that I'm also supporting."
"People would say before that I earned a lot as a head chef and manager, but I was living week-by-week even then. I have minimal savings; and now, I'm out of a job. I'm depleting whatever I did save."
Three of the people Enrique supports are his mum and twin boys. Source: Enrique Raposa III
Despite the financial difficulties, Enrique isn't one to feel sorry for himself.
"Mine is not an isolated case. It's difficult for everyone," he says.
"I wake up everyday and I'm healthy. I'm grateful and that thought is how I cope."
Coping for this chef means also focusing on the thing he loves most - food.
Coping for this chef means also focusing on the thing he loves most - food. Source: Enrique Raposa III
"We Filipinos are resilient. We look for ways on how we can earn," he says.
"When I worked in fine dining, I used to make my own packed meals and bring them to work. My chefs were interested and I began making these for them as well."
From his chefs at work, Enrique started to make meals for other friends and friends of friends during his days off.
"Now that I'm out of a job, I would call out to people what my menu for the week was and whoever was interested, I would cook for them. It's more of a hobby at the moment. Although it doesn't come close to what I used to earn, it at least is substantial to earn me extra income."
"I hear of people complaining about how their salaries have been reduced to 20-30%, but they fail to realise how lucky they are to still be in the workforce. Times are hard."
"Now that I'm out of a job, I would call out to people what my menu for the week was and whomever was interested, I would cook for them." Source: Enrique Raposa III
Times are hard for Enrique, but he says that individuals such as international students have it much worse.
"They pay so much for school. A lot of them have no savings. Now, they're stuck too."
"In the past two weeks, people have been buying more packed meals from me; so, I started using what little profit I have to create meals to give to international students for free. It's my attempt to do good and somehow share what I have to those in need."
In as much as Enrique helps those who need support, he takes pride in being part of both the Filipino and Australian communities.
"Filipinos and Australians take on the same spirit - the spirit of mateship, of bayanihan. Let's support one another." Source: Enrique Raposa III
"Filipinos and Australians take on the same spirit - the spirit of mateship, of bayanihan. We shouldn't take advantage of each other. Let's support one another."
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