Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Urban.
Hi Sydney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a chef but like to consider myself an artist. My whole life I’m been painting, modeling, drawing, doing graphic design. I started painting when I was eight and begin selling my artwork shortly after. As I grew up, health became a large part of my life to a fault. I had crippling OCD revolving around everything from working out, eating well, managing my school work, and ended up isolated myself due to my extreme desire for perfection in every way. By the time I was 13, this had taken a huge toll on my ability to actually do well at anything because nothing was ever good enough. After a lot of therapy, I learned to manage my “black-and-white” train of thought and at 17, I started working as a brand ambassador and promotional modeling in High School which helped me travel outside of the small town of Battle Ground, WA where I grew up. This job taught me about how to engage with people. I knew I wanted to do something that made me money and was more stable than modeling long term and I got my real estate license in Oregon at 18. Unfortunately, I quickly found out going to college, traveling and modeling, having a real estate license where I would go into an office and sit at a desk was not what I was passionate about and was extremely taxing. I ended up quitting college to continue modeling and in real estate, I ended up doing more artistic jobs such as graphic design services for other realtors while I was traveling. At the end of any job, I would also return to food though. I’d come home and make my friends food after traveling and drop it off at their house, I’d host dinners, bring food to the office, and when I was traveling, all I wanted to do was find new food to try and get lost in any city I was in.
By 20, I was modeling full time and the travel begin to be too much, I never worked with the same people and I wanted to just be in one place for a while. I moved to California and after a year of trying to figure out what I would do besides modeling, I realized that even though my parents considered being a chef a job for someone without other options, that is what I love. I went to school at Berkley Bauman College to become a chef and got a job working at ByWater in Los Gatos which taught me an insane amount about the restaurant industry. I never wore makeup, kept my modeling a secret, and wanted to prove the way I look has nothing to do with my ability to be determined in the culinary world. After working several chef jobs and eventually two full-time jobs, all in different areas that I wanted to learn from, I decided to get into doing private chef work so I could have a more flexible job while planning to open my own business and continue work in real estate. September 2020, I moved to Austin wanting to open something here which is now why I have my kitchen at 5610 N IH 35 Austin Texas 78751 where we do delivery and takeout plus catering. I wanted this business to franchise in three years so right now, my goals are customer acquisitions and developing systems for scaling. I now model for myself, for fun, with local photographers and love to include food in those images.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, mental health has been a huge one. While I’ve always been able to “get it done” now that I’ve found a medication to help with my anxiety, it’s really helped along with tools I’ve been getting from therapy since I was an adolescent. When it comes to the food industry, it’s always been that I’m too young or that I don’t “look like” someone who works hard because for some reason, some people subconsciously see the way you look linked to a direct correlation to your ability to have the work ethic or do a less desirable job. My competitive spirit makes me want to prove people wrong and do things bigger and better than anyone who has given me words of doubt. I don’t always share my story because even though I get stupid questions or comments regularly about my ability to accomplish something, I’d rather show people. They always come back eventually, some asking for advice, which I gladly give without questioning someone’s ability because of the way I’ve been treated.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is not work. I just do whatever I want every single day. I believe if you aren’t hurting yourself and you aren’t hurting others, just do whatever you want to. I think I’m most proud of the type of sister I am. I’ve fought very hard to show my siblings that they can do whatever they want by pushing for what I want. I love watching my younger sister slowly figure out herself and giving her the ability to freely “fail forward,” pursue her passions and have a safe space to be whatever type of human she wants to be. I think when you truly live from a place of passion, you’ll be able to do anything you want to do. I don’t think there are many people who really live that way. If something isn’t making you happy, stop doing it immediately. I’m not sure that I’m very special in any way, but the best part of life is your ability to be yourself and that should be enough to set you apart.
What matters most to you?
Inspiring people to not be afraid of aggressively being who they are, end of story, Next question.
Contact Info:
- Email: chefsydneymarie@gmail.com
- Website: https://plant-box.square.site/
- Instagram: untamed.chef
Image Credits
IG @snapsbyagirl for chicken sandwich photos IG @atxmediagroup for pizza picture
