Things you should know before dating a chef

We are getting close to our 7th anniversary since Carl and I met, and we are hitting an important milestone in our lives. I honestly cannot believe how quickly time flies.
His career didn't come as a surprise as we met at one of his old workplaces where I was applying for my very first job in the UK. Actually, I need to admit that I was applying for my first job ever.
If you would like to read the full story about me moving to the UK, just click here.
He was just at the beginning of his career busy starting to build it up, and I was trying to settle down in my new home.
Either of us was looking for a relationship at that time.
I didn't plan on falling in love, and I definitely doubt that he planned on falling in love with me as he was ready to leave the country in the next month or two.
But luckily life just happened to us.

It's no secret that dating, living or marrying a chef is nowhere near as glamorous as celebrity chefs make it seem on Tv.
I knew about his career from the first day we met yet the reality of dating a chef was far beyond my expectations.
After seven years I can tell you that if you're thinking of dating a chef, you need to know that your life will change and next to the many pros there are, in fact, there are downfalls to the situation too.
No don't get me wrong I'm certainly not here to stop you dating a chef simply to share my full experience from the beginning to
these days.

1) Night owls
No secret that chefs work long, unsociable hours.
They work 14 plus hours a day 6 to 7 days a week most of the year.
Yes, weekends and bank holidays too, which means he can't come to family functions either.
Chefs are on another level with the rest of the world.
They are the exact definition of night owls.
I remember when Carl and I started "dating" actually I'm not too sure if it can be called that, but I will let you decide.

The service ended at the restaurant around 10-11 pm then they cleaned up, followed the closing down duties, and he got home around midnight sometimes even later than that.
We both lived in the same houseshare as it was provided by the workplace, which was about 2 mins walk from the house.
Once he got home, I was waiting for him to take me out for our date.
Yes, you heard that right as we lived on the top of the hill far away from the city we used to go out for long walks after his shift where we were just talking, laughing and getting to know each other.
We left the house at midnight and got back around 3-4 am.
Then he was back at work the next day to do breakfast.
Call me crazy, but in my eyes, he was acting like Prince Charming.

2) Days off
It's a fact that restaurants are bustling at weekends.
Therefore it's a miracle if a chef can get a weekend off. Chefs weekends usually land during the week.
Carl never had a weekend off since I know him unless he booked it as a holiday, so I knew that a 9-5 job could not be an option for me.
It takes a certain amount of patience to be ok with this type of lifestyle, but luckily we made it work.

3) Spending time together
Dating a chef can get lonely.
You will end up having a lot of time in your hand, and you will do a lot of things on your own that other couples do together.
Carl was working 60+ hours a week when we met, and I always know that this will be just going up in the years.
When we moved to Manchester, he was carrying on working in fine dining AA Rosette Restaurants.
We were together by that time for 1 or 2 years, and things didn't get easier one bit.
He started to work 70 hours a week, and even though we lived together by then, we barely managed to see each other. It was tough, but I knew he worth it.

4) Change
No matter if you date or live with someone who lives for food and whose greatest joy is cooking and eating. It will change you.
I believe I mentioned it enough times on my blog for you all to realise that I hate to cook.
The only thing I possibly cook is my porridge in the morning, but yet my relationship with food has never been the same since I met Carl.
If you ever had a white truffle tagliolini let me ask you a question how do hell can I go back eating plain chicken?
I've become a food critic who can't cook. haha
I always make a note wherever we eat out about our dining experience over on TripAdvisor.
Click here to see my profile. It's a blessing and a curse having a chef boyfriend because now I can taste the missing salt from the sauce or that the broccoli is slightly overcooked.

5) Dining out
He probably took me to all the best restaurants in Manchester just because he has to try that and that.
Yes, Carl loves to order the half of the menu when we are on a date night.
I guess that's just normal when you go out with a professional cook.

6) His daily meals
No, it certainly doesn't mean that he eats amazing food every day, in fact, if he ever had the time to eat at work, he used to eat a lot of snacky & unhealthy food.

7) Cooking for you
People always say when they find out that I live with a chef:
"I'd love to date a chef and have him always cook for me".
Obviously, people who say this never dated one.
No human would be precisely in a mood to cook after cooking for 13-14 hours a day, five or six days a week.

8.) Cooking at home
Even though it's used to be quiet rare when I found Carl in the kitchen when he whipped out the fancy pots and pans and turned our tiny apartment's kitchen into a mess was so OMG! I could hear Janice's voice saying "Oh My God..! In my head.
Everything made my taste buds sing.
It's one of those rare occasions that totally worth the wait every time.

9) Insane kitchen setup
Our first whole apartment probably could fit in our kitchen now. I'm still shocked how fast time flies, but anyways Carl has been dreaming about this kitchen since I know him.
The design was 90 % of my ideas, but all the equipment were entirely his.
I still remember when we went to McDonald's just after our consultation with Wren Kitchens to discuss our kitchen plans.
I was sitting there and listening to Carl's ideas.
He was telling me why we need a double door cabinet instead of that beautiful corner one that I wanted to pick.
He said: "The sous vide and the vacuum sealer needs a place along with my blow torch and espuma gun".
I looked just as confused as you are reading it, but he won the argument we bought the double cabinet.

10.) Cooking for him
Carl either has a 6th sense about cooking, or I really suck at it.
Cooking for him is a lot of pressure.
I tried to surprise him many times in the past years, but it's never turned out as a pleasant memory, so I gave up.
He can tell when a chicken is right just by poking or looking at it when I think its need another 5 mins haha.
He swooped in while I was cooking and told me that I'm about to ruin it all so let's just leave it to him..
obviously after that, the mood was set for the night.
Another good reason for me to stay away from the kitchen.

11) Knives
This most likely comes with the job, but he is obsessed with knives.
One top tip for you if you ever want to be on the good side of a chef.
Don't Touch. His. Knife.
You've been warned.

As is the case with most things, there are good and bad aspects of falling in love with a chef.
Like loving the fact that I've always had Mondays off when the rest of the world doesn't eat amazing meals and that I found someone who gives me enough space to be alone and focus on just me but still has enough time just for the two of us together.
If I am completely honest it was a tough ride, but when he's become a head chef and then he's become his own boss things got a lot smoother.
From there, we learnt how to spend most of our times together and to work together.
So if you ask me, it's like that fantastic dinner once a week, totally worth waiting for it.