Four days a week Dieter Jennen makes lunch for some of Kamloops’ most vulnerable people. And he does it without being able to see clearly while looking straight ahead.
Jennen is a chef at New Life Community in Kamloops. He studied to be a chef at BCIT back in the 1980s and lost his central vision a decade later due to macular dystrophy.
He didn’t let his visual impairment stop him from continuing his culinary career.
“You can do one of two things: you can either have the attitude like, ‘Oh dear God, I’ve lost my vision. I can’t see, I can’t do anything.’ Or you can say, ‘let’s see what I can do, and get out there.’ You may fail, but you might succeed.”
He says his condition doesn’t affect the final product.
“I don’t use recipes that much, so I don’t need my vision to read recipes as such,” he said. “I go a lot with what I’ve done before and my tastebuds.”
– With files from CFJC
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