Who Was That Tosser in the Corner?

My tummy kept rumbling as several years ago I sat in one of my favourite warm cosy Hepburn Springs cafes wondering why my breakfast was taking so long and why the normally laid back cafe owners Gary and Shane were in quite a state.

The Chowder House is never like this and it all seemed to be caused by what I saw as "some tosser in the corner in a cravat".

Eventually my breakfast arrived along with a very apologetic but worried looking Gary who announced he'd just delivered a big bowl of their best chowder to Matt Preston from The Age. 

I was still non the wiser as to who this larger than life character in the corner was.  But the reverence in the owner's voice explained why this slightly eccentric looking gentleman, who to me seemed to be savouring every mouthful rather longer than needed before frantically writing things down, was causing such a stir.

Garry the owner then again whispered  in sacred tones that Matt could "make or break them" and they were very nervous, yet also excited.

Every time I re-visited for breakfast I asked if the article had been published but the sad and long faced shaking heads indicated that the tosser in the corner probably got a free of chowder.

THEN MASTERCHEF STARTED and I immediately recognised Matt Preston as the tosser in the corner who held up my breakfast!  I was ever so slightly amused that this man who I came to instantly like on TV for his warmth, passion and quirky sense of humour, was a hollowed food critic.  No wonder he caused such a fuss.

Matt Preston is a fine example of someone who is instantly recognisable and memorable even if you don’t know who he is.

He has branded himself with the very clever use a cravat.  A small piece of clothing most wouldn't be seen dead in but coupled with his vibrant personality and serious passion for food - he has created something out of nothing.

Could anyone don a cravat and make it work? 

Well not now with Matt Preston quickly moving to celebrity status with the success of Masterchef anyone in a cravat is now just a Matt Preston knock off or wannabe. 

The reason it worked so well for Matt is that he has a strong sense of who he is, a strong personal style or brand and he lives the cravat - Matt's cravats even have names.  They haven't just been styled in - they are an integral part of his personality that was there even when food plebs like me didn't know who he was.

When he stepped into the limelight the cravat part of his personality just erupted and coupled with his talent and passion for food - magic was created.

There are many gifted food critics in the world but Matt stood out from crowd with a small piece of silk being the icing on the publicity cake.

In business it is not enough to just be talented and gifted – you have to figure out what your cravat is or what makes you different and makes you stand out and will draw people toward you.  If you don't dare to be different and are afraid to stand out from the crowd you will just melt into a vat of sameyness and end up rotting in the slops bucket of business.

So have I forgiven Matt for holding up my breakfast?  

Well no actually - The Chowder House eventually got its day in the newspaper around about the time that the first years finals of Masterchef were running.

Their chowder was rocketed to instant success after Matt gave them the tick of approval on the chowder dish he had tasted a year before – as my breakfast sat on the bench hmmmm! 

The cafe became so popular with the Melbourne foodie set that we locals couldn’t get a seat for love nor money on the weekends.  One long weekend there were so many people queued up on the footpath waiting to get in that I had to cross the road to walk down the street.  Ah the price of fame!

Who thought a tiny little cafe in a sleepy hollow tourist town could get that sort of attention specializing in one dish – ah the reward for being different.

You can read Matt Preston's review of the Chowder House here

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Why Being Recognisable Is So Important

While attending a Thought Leaders Summit in Melbourne City this week I was reminded just how important it is to express who you are in any crowd.

I absolutely love any Thought Leaders event because they take me right outside my comfort zone.  The attendees are predominantly high energy presenters, speakers and entrepreneurs who make a lot of money just by being themselves.

At these types of events I always sense a definite hint of testosterone in the air, which tends to activate my fight or flight senses. My inner nerd kicks in at any networking event and as I'm registering I always have an urgent need to leave - FAST!

This is all about me and nothing about what anyone else in the room is doing but it can be challenging and brings up memories of all those Kleenex moments as I drove home from my early networking attempts believing I had to sell the room and feeling like a failure when I inevitably didn't give so much as one business card away. But yesterday I managed to stay all day and was richly rewarded for my tenacity.

Not only did I get mind shattering clarity on how to promote myself I also met some awesome like minded people. I'm still finding my place in it all and confess to feeling a little duck out of waterish after lunch because I hadn't found the inevitable kindred spirit I usually find anywhere I go.

Then close to the finish of the event I looked over and saw a lady wearing a pendant I recognised. It was like a bolt from the blue because the pendant was one of the amazing sacred geometry pieces made by  Zakay Glass Creations.  These pieces are energetically extraordinary and you would only be drawn to them if you had some kind of woo-woo connection.

So it was very easy for me to get into a conversation with the wearer in the bar after the formal part of the event closed.

Seeing as I don't drink its a miracle I was in the bar in the first place.  I was all rugged up (ready to hit the road at any nanno second) in my "growlly" coat, which was aptly named by one of my old bosses because of its distinctive leopard print fabric.  It is fully reversible but the dull grey suede side rarely gets a airing.

So when I spotted that pendant I was very quickly in deep conversation about spirit and how it fits with the corporate business world.  Within minutes we were joined by the only other person with a growlly jacket on who also had a interest in things spiritual.  

If any of us had decided to take the safe route in a predominately corporate crowd we probably wouldn't have met.  It was awesome to drive home feeling energised and happy with not one Kleenex in sight.  Shows if you stick with the plan and stay in the game eventually things (including networking) get better with time!