Jimi Anderson
Blazing a trail in the Tourism and Hospitality industry is something that Jimi Anderson knows all about, in more ways than one. Working with fire to forge a unique career path, Jimi’s career trajectory has led him to the position of co-owner of Season and Fire Catering Experiences.
Season and Fire started through an opportunity that Jimi recognised within the industry from his experience in competitive barbecuing. He found a space for catering live fire experiences that showcases fresh, local, seasonal Tasmanian produce for corporates, elopements, and micro-weddings, through to beautiful big weddings in marquees and paddocks. Tasmania’s world-renowned produce belt drives Jimi’s craft, where he is enthusiastic in sharing cooking techniques that hero these ingredients. “Cooking on fire is, I think, at its heart, a very primal thing to do. It's a very challenging medium to cook over, but it's an incredibly simple way to cook. The flavour complexity that comes from cooking over fire, I think is as good as it can be”.
Jimi embarked on his career in Tourism and Hospitality straight out of school through a traineeship at Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Hobart. “I spent two years there working throughout the many different areas of the hotel. It was a fantastic experience to see a lot of diversity and so many opportunities within an industry in such a short period of time. But I didn't quite realise over my career for the next 20 years, that it was going to be very similar to that”.
From the outset, Jimi found he had a real ability to connect with people – both workers, colleagues and mentors, as well as clients and guests.
“The initial attraction of the hospitality industry for me was definitely being a people person - being somebody that is sociable and having the opportunity to be able to connect with people from so many different levels from a working format, and also from a social element outside of work”.
From there, Jimi’s career has taken him through work in bars, restaurants, tourism, guiding and the beverage industry. He describes his approach as one of seeing opportunities and taking them.
“The hospitality industry is always evolving. It's never static and there's always the potential to be able to learn and develop yourself.” He adds, “What the hospitality industry has taught me over 20 years is the ability to be able to adapt and be flexible. Whether that be a dinner service, or that the weather isn't quite going your way in an outdoor catering scenario, or the constant change and demand of the consumer.”
“The ability to be able to learn from a positive outlook, to take things with a smile, and to be able to listen to people with empathy have been really important”.
In reflecting on his more than 20 years in the industry, Jimi sees enormous opportunity through the support and mentoring that is available. “The evolution of the alcohol industry within Tasmania has been amazing. The craft beer, cider and whisky space has definitely given a lot of people the opportunities to evolve from a bar job into a production role. The opportunities for self-growth and mentoring throughout the industry is, I think at the moment, as good as it has ever been”.
Jimi is upbeat about the opportunities for young people getting started in the industry and echoes how fulfilling the career path is for professional and personal development.
“The life lessons and experiences that you learn are transferable to anything throughout life”. He explains, “There’s so many elements to the hospitality industry. If you find a passion for an element with a little bit of education and learning and the right attitude, it's so easy to be able to pivot and turn and educate yourself”.
“We get to take people to the best of places, give them the best of experiences, the best of produce. And for me, that's an amazingly rewarding experience”.
Jimi is even more upbeat about the opportunities for working within the catering event space and how that feeds into hospitality tourism. “The catering event space is an amazing space to be able to work in. We are often able to showcase Tasmania and everything Tasmania has to offer.” He says, “It's always stimulating to be able to show people new things and new experiences. We get to take people to the best of places, give them the best of experiences, the best of produce. And for me, that's an amazingly rewarding experience”.
Jimi’s trail blazing in the Tourism and Hospitality industry provides a good analogy between his cooking on fire and opportunities within the industry. “Cooking on fire is definitely an interesting medium. Maybe it could be likened to the perfect golf shot or the perfect cast in fly fishing. The elements are always changing and variable – no conditions are ever the same.”
“To be able to cook in an environment such as Tasmania that is always changeable, and to be able to put something on the plate that you're proud of, with the challenges that have presented themselves, is just amazing – and incredibly addictive!”.
