I had the privilege of speaking to Brodie Sorbara about his tumultuous career in the food industry as well as his dramatic exit into a surprising new field: oil rigging.
At a very young age, Brodie had the opportunity to witness the inner workings of a commercial kitchen. He watched the cooks in awe. There is excitement in his voice, even decades later.
“There was fire everywhere and an intensity in the air,” Sorbara said. “That was it for me—I knew what I wanted to do!”
As someone who was never comfortable in school, he found the strategic call and response of an organized kitchen to be just the right amount of exciting structure he needed.
At twelve years old, Sorbara went to work at his brother’s restaurant. Proud to have his first official job in the food industry, he began to learn the principles of commercial food preparation.
When grade eight rolled around, still enthusiastic about being a part of the industry, there was a tough decision to be made. Sorbara could either go to the high school in his district or fight to be accepted into a school that had a cooking program.
For Sorbara, it did not feel like a choice: he had to cook. After a mountain of bureaucracy, he was accepted to the school that would help establish his culinary dreams.
After a high school cooking co-op—which he may or may not have lied about his age to attend—he was fully committed to the industry.
Sorbara said he was hot-headed and found himself working throughout the region in many restaurants, always striving for excellence, lobbying for safety and searching for the right team.
Now a full-timer in the food game, Sorbara realized that this was an industry plagued with abuse and corruption.
From nepotism to manipulation, with a good helping of verbal and even sexual abuse, Sorbara has witnessed it all. He recounts one position in which he spoke out against a specific case of sexual abuse and was met with threats to his job and life.
In an environment with so many intrinsic problems, it is hard to pinpoint the biggest one. However, many problems can be attributed to either owners, management or both. From abuse to unsafe working conditions, owners have the power to make the necessary changes throughout the industry.
“I shouldn’t be scared to lose my job over the price of beef,” said Sorbara.
Fed up with a profession he once loved, Sorbara decided to take a step back and took a job at a Boston Pizza.
Christina Sorbara, his wife. had a bit of a laugh as he explained.
“I’m leaving the industry the way I started,” he said.
Realizing that the gruesome aspects of the trade have remained unchanged in 20 years, despite his best efforts, Sorbara decided to search for a new career to support his young family.
Now, Brodie works on an oil rig approximately 3,200 kilometres west of where he first began his career in the kitchen.
“[Team mates on the oil rig] are like family, people have your back and safety is number one. In many ways, it’s the opposite of the food industry!”
If you love something, set it free. After decades of cooking, learning, grinding and fighting through the abuse and the bureaucracy, Sorbara did.
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