Meet Amanda, who used Coople to work flexibly as a chef allowing her to follow her dream of setting up a food photography business.
Introducing Amanda: using flexible work as a chef to achieve her dream
24-year-old Amanda Canever moved to London at the start of this year, after a year-long stint in Dublin. Originally from Brazil, she moved over to Europe in 2018 seeking a new, creative environment. “I’ve always loved the European lifestyle,” she said.
Amanda is a self-confessed food lover – she studied culinary arts at university and has five years of experience working as a pastry chef. However, she always dreamt of starting up her own business as a freelance food photographer. Ultimately, Amanda wanted photography to be her main job and source of income – no mean feat. “In the kitchen, you don’t have time for yourself. The hours are really long,” Amanda explained, reflecting back on her time working as a full-time chef. “Every week you have a different day off, so it was impossible to plan anything.”
How does Amanda approach flexible work?
Luckily, upon moving to London, Amanda found a solution that enabled her to continue to work flexibly as a chef and begin to start her own business – Coople. She knew that working as a chef on a freelance basis would be much more flexible and would fit around her lifestyle. When she downloaded the Coople app, she realised she could book casual shifts working as a chef. This offered her some financial stability and a work schedule that was completely malleable to her wants and needs. It also gave her the spare time she was seriously lacking.
This flexibility meant she could finally start her freelance food photography business. She had the time to dedicate to it, and crucially, no strict bosses that she had to ask for time off. She also didn’t want to give up entirely on her work as a chef. With Coople, she could easily balance the two.
At the start of this year, inspired by London’s creativity and photography scene, she took the plunge. “It’s challenging, but I love a challenge,” she explained. “I’ve always loved the artistic side of food and capturing it in my photos. Now, being a chef is my side business – my photography takes priority.” Typically, Amanda books in for two chef shifts a week on Coople, and spends three or four days a week focusing on her business; always changing up the days to ensure variety in her work life.
Balancing photography with a chef career
This flexibility is her favourite thing about Coople. “I can arrange what time I’m going to work, and how I can fit it around my photography – that’s the main benefit,” she explained. She tends to book Coople shifts a week or so in advance. Time management is key for Amanda, but Coople lets her manage her time in a way that truly works for her. “The most challenging thing for me is creating a good balance between the two facets of my work, but Coople has massively helped with that.”
Now, less than a year since its launch, Amanda’s freelance photography business is thriving. While Amanda gets to work for a variety of clients in a job that embraces her creative side – and all on her own terms.
“Now I balance my work using Coople, my lifestyle is much better. I can plan everything as my schedule isn’t always changing like it did when I worked full-time as a chef. And my personal life as a freelance chef is the best. I get to have so many experiences, and make lots of different contacts at the same time.”
Check out some of Amanda’s beautiful work through her Instagram account: @caneveramanda