Noma is Short For No Money.
Can you believe I’ve never been in a job interview?
Never been asked a ‘tell me your biggest strength/weakness’ question?
My brother bought me work shirts and cuff links as graduation presents.
I’ve worn them a grand total of zero times.
My first job in advertising, during the so called ‘interview’, I brouoght a book (portfolio). The first creative director said ‘interesting’, and she returned with her partner, and the partner said ‘interesting’, and they went out and found a writer, and just sat us together for fifteen minutes in a room.
After that, they said I could come in a month later for a trial.
A month after that I was offered a junior position, $35k including super.
“This is very high for a junior,” they said.
“Do you know how many guys a girl would fuck to be in your position,” one writer told me during xmas party.
I stayed for two years, before getting laid off along with half of the creative department.
My second job in advertising was offered simply because I was next in line.
As I ‘interviewed’ to be a freelancer, I took my old business card, crossed off the agency name, and used it as my calling card.
It’s the only thing that impressed Dave, one of the creative directors.
“I loved it. It shows he had the experience, credentials and a sense of humour,’ I remember him talking to Kate, knowing I could hear it.
A couple of months later, a team was leaving (ironically to my old agency), and they was digging through their ‘freelancers’ bin.
I’m pretty sure Kate and Dave did not remember my folio when they offered me the new position.
We had a solid six months, until they were headhunted to another <surname> agency.
Not long after, I quit and tried my luck as a photographer.
During transition, they still took me in as a freelancer. Working with other creative directors and accounts.
No folio, no interview.
My first wedding couple flew me all the way from Melbourne to North Carolina, just because I was Gary’s orientation leader. No folio. Only credential was we were both into photography.
I shot my second wedding because Felix was my neighbour along the dormitory hall. No folio, but he saw I took photos of Gary’s wedding.
My first published book in Shanghai, came from a travel magazine photo essay, which happened because Nelson read my advertising blog. No interview.
My first food photography assignment from Fairfax, the art director saw photos of my wife’s birthday lunch at a French restaurant they were intending to cover.
A marketing campaign for a multi-million residential project, the developer - husband of a college friend, just asked “Yvonne mentioned you used to be in advertising, that’s design, right?” No folio.
As a parent with a mortgage who doesn’t like to set money on fire, I’m against private education.
Yet at the same time, I’m the embodiment of what’s that saying again?
People often forget what you say, what you do, but they always remember how you make them feel.
And if they like how you make them feel, they’d rather hire you over an over-qualified asshole.
See also: nepotism. Hashtag luck. Asterisk your mileage may vary.
I’m not sure if you remember the first season of Australian Masterchef.
Channel 10 does, because that was peak Australian Television, they were rolling in sponsorship and ad money.
It’s the year 2009, we were still consuming media according to fixed time slots.
A typical Friday night was 5.30pm Jamie Oliver, 6pm Heston Blumenthal, 6.30pm Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmare, and then 7pm Masterchef, Asian Poh vs Australian Julie, scattered with some ads featuring Nigella or Neil Perry.
That was a time when people thought the food industry was cool.
I thought the food industry was cool, far superior to the ad industry.
After a few photography assignments and first hand observation, I come to realise the food industry is exactly the same as the ad industry. Which is also the same as the movie industry, the fine art industry, the publishing industry, the music industry, the animation industry, the gaming industry, the SFX and VFX industry.
I’m pretty sure if you replace my position with <young chef>, my creative directors with <culinary director>, agency name with <Michelin star restaurant>, it will be a cookie cutter life of all chefs.
The ‘experience’ industry.
You start low, and you grind. You have a finite amount of time to find out if the industry loves you back. Or if you have any talent to float in a pool made for the richest and poorest people in the world - because they have nothing to lose and are not bounded by materialistic needs. Everyone in between trying to achieve some financial or emotional security will be grasping for air.
The good thing is, you don’t need a qualification for this job.
The scary thing is, you don’t need a qualification for this job.
All this reflection, was triggered by NOMA’s announcement to close shop.
And surprisingly, the media isn’t singing a farewell song like the von Trapp kids. The NYT article made it sound like investigative journalism on slavery.
I just find it interesting how the tune is so different from when El Bulli decided to close shop.
This time everyone is an armchair MBA graduate, pointing fingers.
But I know you know we know the solution.
Don’t eat out.
Cook at home.
People can’t be overworked if there’s no work.
Simple, right?
You know what is also similar to fine dining at the highest level?
Japan.
As in, the whole country.
I don’t know how they do it.
The birth rate is low, migration is low, and the population is declining, people are working harder than ever. The government is constantly weakening the yen and avoiding inflation to attract the export market and tourism, which weakens the average purchasing power.
The front of house is Tokyo.
The anime and mangas you read. The stuff you watch on YouTube.
Clean, efficient, reliable.
Chinese tourists are currently rushing into Japan with COVID to buy - get this I kid you not - cold and flu tablets. All pharmacies have a ‘limited to two per person’ sign in English and Chinese across the Bufferin EX tablets.
The main ingredient in these tablets?
Ibuprofen.
It’s all in the packaging.
The rest of the country is the back of house: grueling hours and intense workplace culture, low staff, soon to hit a breaking point. Yup, exactly like the headline to describe Noma.
It’s just that, I’m not sure how a country can ‘close shop’ like Noma.
Will they continue to work hard until they collapse, or eventually open up to migrants? It’s a very interesting game as an outsider to observe.
I think the Japanese do find value and self-worth in working hard.
Being competitive is in our DNA after all.
That’s how we got here right, the moment we were ejaculated, we swam and beat twenty million other competitors.
The beginning of life is the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan - we had no time to think, but to just make it to the shore alive.
Whereas the west, I’m not really sure what the narrative here.
Be number one, but also consider the feelings of others.
Be kind, but put yourself first.
Let it go, but also, zero mistakes.
Don’t be vain, but follow the Kardashians.
COVID bad, but business needs to resume.
Enjoy fine dining, but please, think about the workers.
Screen time is bad, but please, subscribe to our publication.
If I were to be interviewed today, I would say my greatest weakness is I am not very good at claiming credit when it’s due.
To the extent that I have to subconsciously drop hints about Japan, the New York Times, my lack of CV, the food industry, to passive-aggresively mask an announcement:
My writing was recently published in the New York Times.
It’s a two-paragraph travel piece on why you should visit Fukuoka.
Doesn’t matter, it’s going on my tombstone.
How did that happen? Diem shared our chat, who caught the eye of Lee Tran, who forwarded an email from NYT calling for submissions to their 52 places to visit in 2023. The NYT editor? Ex-Broadsheet Melbourne editor who worked with me on a ramen piece in 2015.
My paid subsrcibers sugar daddies, I’ve made you proud. Meesa not a hack, meesa got paid in USD.
The least I could do is to use some of the fee to pay for a NYT subscription.
Check out the comments section of the piece though, what a 2023 modern nightmare to behold.
The kneejerk reaction to beautifully written, crafted article is:
How dare you promote traveling with all the carbon emissions?
How dare you encourage mindless consumption?
How dare you celebrate the beauty of the world?
How dare you encourage art?
How dare you have fun?
How dare you how dare you how dare you.
My dreams are getting more incoherent - yesterday I had a feature-length nightmare of trying to shoot two weddings in one day because of a schedule mix-up. Which means my brain must be healing with proper REM sleep.
I also survived a day without medication and afternoon nap. It was grueling towards the end, but also good to know that it can be done. I mean, I sat and wrote this in one sitting, compared to the previous one which took a week, so concentration is coming back.
My ability to smell, sense of taste is at maybe 75%. Sweetness came back first, then sourness and spiciness. (Never bothered with bitterness as life is bitter enough). It’s interesting how the brain thinks salt and umami - the key to flavour - are the least important, shafted towards the end of the recovery bus.