I accidentally became a private chef
For context: I live and work in a country where high end japanese food is almost non existent.
I have always been passionate about Japanese cuisine and always been making it for friends and family. Over the years my skills got better and I got to find nicer ingredients to work with.
One day at my job, one of my client tells me that I talk a lot about Japanese food and challenge me to prepare some for him and his family. As I accept he tells me he'll invite friends over as well.
That night was chaotic as I was basically at his place, trying to make an omakase for 6 people with ZERO experience. However they actually had a good time, so much so that the next day I received a call from a woman that was at the table asking me to cater for a dinner the next weekend. I thought f*ck it and accepted.
From there, due to social media, it blew up and I started basically working two full time jobs, designing menu, exchanging with suppliers, catering for 2-3 days a week, it was exhausting but it was fun.
After a year I got my first gig as a consultant to develop a menu for a Handroll Bar which allowed me to get a glimpse of a professional kitchen setup.
It's been two years now, I dialed it down a bit, but honestly it's a fun game and the direct interaction with people at the table, them enjoying the food etc. That's a nice feeling!
Every now and then I'm thinking of moving to somewhere nice (where I live has one of the worst climate in the world) and just work as a private chef, but every post on this sub give me a reality check. It's not an easy ride when you depend on it.