How many times have we heard people say “choose a job you love and you never have to work a day in your life”? From experience, I would say that it may sound fun and easy, but it is extremely tough to put into action. At least for a working class citizen like me, the dilemma stems from the fact that most of the things I love to do are not as financially rewarding as the things that I less love to do. For instance, I must admit that my desk job pays well, making it completely ridiculous to give it up for theatre acting stint. At this point in my life, I am just not ready to leave my 8-5 job to chase after my passion.
It is, however, inspiring to know of people who have taken the monumental decision of leaving their cushy career in exchange for doing what they love. One of them is Dave Smart, a mechanical engineer turned restaurateur, and the head chef at Front & Central, a casual dining place in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Video Source: Pedro Cochon
Smart recounts that though there was not any eureka moment that led him to take the plunge into opening up a restaurant business, his friends always noticed how excited he was when he talked about cooking. “One day,” say Smart, “a friend said to me ‘Every time you talk about cooking, you sit up and your body language changes’.” The same friend said that this was in contrast to when Smart would talk about Engineering. And the rest, so they say, was history.
Smart admits that making it through the transition phase was not easy. “I work way more than I once did,” he says, “but I make a fraction of the money I once made.” But Smart does not seem to care about the difficulty, as long as he felt “full”.
Smart identified as an engineer from his 20s through his 30s, when he enjoyed the perks of the job. “It was nice to enjoy the lifestyle – the spiffy car, the house and the loads of travel,” say Smart. “It was his perfect existence on paper, but it felt so empty.” His struggles were made worse by a coincidental marriage break-up.
Image Source: GIphy
“After my marriage was broken up,” Smart says, “I decided not to be one of those guys who lies on their deathbed with a list of things they wished they had done before.” So, he finally decided to give in to what his heart tells him. At 40, he took a nine-month culinary program at Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute, then apprenticed at a restaurant there.
In January 2012, he accepted a job at Wolfville’s Tempest restaurant, which became his seven months later.
Smart admits that he still has moments, especially in extremely difficult circumstances, when he stands on the brink of giving up and going back to full-time engineering. “But the moment I make that statement, I immediately feel empty inside,” he says.
A lot of people go through quarter-life or mid-life crisis. Many are disappointed to find out that the road to success is not straight, let alone paved. We all have our own unique circumstances that either allow or disallow us to do what we want to do at the moment. If there’s an essential takeaway from Dave Smart’s story, it is that you have to take ownership of your life at some point, and it is never too late to chase after what you love.
Image Source: David Smart
Epilogue:
Chef Dave Smart’s Front & Central restaurant served its last meal on December 20, 2014, after two and half years in business. Despite the set-back, Smart has not given up on what makes him feel “full”: He said that he would continue to work in the food industry, doing such things as collaborative events with other chefs.
