Hey, can you tell us about yourself?

Hey, can you tell us about yourself?

We asked Mike B, one of Shared's Video Content Creators to share more about himself, his gig here and his love of food.

What were you doing before Shared?

At the age of 25 I was managing a Blockbuster Video when I decided to follow my life long dream of working in the fine dining industry. It was a regular customer at Blockbuster that happened to be the head chef at the restaurant I would get my first big break at. I quit my job and went to school for culinary management and every night after school I would bring whatever pastries I had made that day directly to his restaurant and beg for a job. Finally after a few weeks he caved. My first shift was Valentine's Day and it was crazy! After two years of going to school all day and working all night, I decided to move on to a new opportunity at an eclectic small restaurant named Oz Kafe. We were are a tiny crew of just five cooks and together we made some of Ottawa's most exciting food. I remained there for five years and after winning awards and catering an insane amount of events I became Head Chef. My dream had come true! However, at the same time another dream had come true, the birth of my two amazing children. Trying to juggle my career, fatherhood and being a present husband was challenging. Eventually it got to a point where I had to make a change or risk losing everything. My family is number one and that will never change!

How would you describe what you do?

Hands! Sourcing recipes and planning Shared Food videos. Recently, I have been featured in more videos involving science and taste tests. It's extremely hard to put in a nutshell what it is I actually do because it keeps evolving.

How'd you find out about this job?

I was selling my house and the realtor's husband happened to be the hiring manager at Shared. We got chatting, there was an opportunity for me and the rest is history.

Tell us about a typical day. . .

Mondays and Tuesdays I spend getting groceries, filming crafts, writing articles and surfing the web for trending ideas. Wednesday to Friday I film for Shared Food.

Most importantly, all day everyday I drink all the free coffee I want.

What is the best part of your job?

Getting to watch my hard work come to life. And drinking lot's of free coffee.

Did you always know you wanted a career in food?

Working in restaurants gave me such an appreciation for teamwork and the camaraderie that develops from working in a kitchen. People who work in the food industry are all very similar and for me being able to work with like-minded individuals was the perfect place. Even though, I am working on a new chapter that is a far cry from what I used to do, it's an exciting challenge that I am loving.

Memorable moments?

The football dip would take the cake on just the ugliest thing I have ever seen.

Sad OR delicious?

Name three words that you describe you.

Introverted. Extreme. Honest  

What would be your personal motto?

"It's easy to love, it's easy to hate, but it takes guts to be gentle and kind"

The last show you binge watched?

Lost

What are you currently reading?

National Geographic

What are you currently listening to?

Ty dolla $ign - Beach house 3, King Krule - The Ooz, Enslaved - E, Alex Cameron - Forced Witness and much much more, especially any and all black metal! Guilty pleasure is all Trap rap!

When you are not at work what could we find you doing?

Playing with my kids, playing video games, reading comics, watching hockey, listening to music.

To see all the great work our video content creators do, LIKE Shared Food and Savvy