Firstly I must thank you for taking the time to read about how we started and I hope you will find it an interesting read and start to become a part of the Wicked Edge Family.
Back in 2011 my wife and I agreed that with our second child on his way, it was a tough ask for her to continue to rely on me to help out with the pick-ups, drop offs and general care taking of him while I was still working unpredictable hours as a chef. We agreed that it was a much better option for me to change my career so she could continue with her more reliable job.
My more recent credentials before giving it away was Executive Chef of the Novotel Brisbane Airport opening team, Executive Chef of the Mercure/Ibis Brisbane Hotel and Executive Sous Chef of the Sheraton/Sofitel Brisbane hotel, mainly in and around Brisbane Hotels prior to these positions.
The plan was to become a stay at home father, however after 3 months I was offered a job that I could not refuse as it allowed me to carry out the school pick up of my eldest son and if need be, pick up my youngest from daycare. After about 18 months of being promised bonuses when reaching my KPI’s and then being told it wasn’t going to happen we seeked out another career path that wasn’t working for the man and I had only myself to answer to and so A Wicked Edge Sharpening Brisbane was born.
The Family Business
We were after a catchy name for the business, we were deciding between “Perfect Edge” (I thought a bit presumptuous) then it was “Chefs Edge” (that sounded like I was just after Chefs business) then we just googled names that sounded good and so it became “A Wicked Edge Sharpening, we searched for other Sharpeners in Australia with this name but there weren’t any but we did find a Sharpening system in the USA called “Wicked Edge Sharpening system” we were told by the authorities that it was ok for us to use this name so we sent the ball in motion with a website, business cards, social media, uniforms etc. The biggest hurdle was tracking down the correct equipment to use, setting up the car/truck, which abrasives to use and where to get them from at a reasonable price and most of all getting the name out there until the website started to get traction.
“I wish I had started doing this 15 years earlier as I get so much satisfaction in this chosen career path.“
In the beginning I was after my peers in the Cheffing trades respect as they were going to be my main target and with my contacts I accumulated over the past 25 years I was able to gradually get a name for myself, I also listened to a few sharpeners both locally and interstate and made special notes on what to do and not to do and so over time with the help of a friend I made the transition to a water cooled system which made the final product so much better and safer for both blade and myself.
I’ve been able to work up some awesome relationships with a lot of businesses and its people and especially I now find myself focusing on the domestic sector a lot more, meeting new and different people everyday has been very satisfying seeing their faces with freshly sharpened blades is a real joy.
I hope one day I get to meet you and see the joy on your faces with freshly sharpened blades, its the simple things in life that mean the most.
