‘Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life’ … we’ve all heard this quote at some point of our life, haven’t we? But only a handful of us have the courage to implement it and follow our heart; the balance majority is caught up in weighing the superficial benefits like security, moolah, societal expectations etc. and continuing with a so-called ‘good’ job which unfortunately is something that we have to drag ourselves to every day.

But the pandemic has changed this mind-set as the ephemerality of life has pushed many professionals in the 30-35 age brackets to give up their well-paid and secure jobs in booming sectors like corporate, industrial, academics et al and switch to off-beat but creative professions like writing, cooking, music, anchoring, delivering stand-up comedy…the list is continuously growing!

Intrigued by this growing trend, Foodism presents you with an overview of what makes well-settled professionals throw up their careers and turn to cooking (home chefs, home bakers, et al)

What attracts people to cooking?

Well, when it comes to Indian households cooking is an art which very few people are bereft of! Then again – the pleasure of breathing-in the aroma of a dish created by you; the sheer joy of watching your guests gobble-up each morsel and sigh with satisfaction; the likes and comments which your recipe and pic attract on social media handles; and the panorama of experimentation which cooking offers - are just a few reasons why a career in cooking appeals to all.

Other pluses which a career in cooking offers -

• The liberty and flexibility to work at your convenience - take up assignments which you feel you can deliver and firmly refuse clients who come across as aggressive and domineering 
• The dignity and respect which home chefs and home bakers enjoy
• The concept of ‘earn as you learn’ – post watching the video on how to prepare Lasagna you can whip it up and even sell it to a client
• No hard core qualifications required barring a flair for cooking
• No age bar – home chefs and home bakers are ageless so long as they are willing to experiment in the kitchen and cater to the palate of their patrons

Counsel

1. Primarily when you make a career swap to cooking you need to invest a lot of time in researching on – current food trends, age-wise food preferences, healthy and nutritious dishes etc. 
2. Secondly, turn a deaf ear to all the negativity (How can you throw away your plum banking job for slaving at the stove?) that people may throw at you 
3. Thirdly quit your successful career and switch to cooking for the right reasons not just because you had a spat with your team leader and you want to ‘teach him/her a lesson’!
4. More importantly post swapping careers at 30 enjoy the journey and don’t keep sweating about the destination
5. Lastly age or previous skill doesn't matter … what matters is a sheer passion and love for cooking and feeding others!

Remember that giving up a steady career to pursue your passion calls for a lot of courage, especially when you are doing well. And there’ll be a lot of naysayers who of course have your well-being at heart to deter you. But trust us nothing can compensate the feeling of thrill and pride that a creative pursuit can ring in for you!

So go ahead and take that bold step!