At first glance, Rueben Marley seems to be an average American living in Hangzhou, but his passion for life makes him an extraordinary guy. "I was a professional Chef for almost 10 years when I lived in the USA, and being a Chef is something I'll never escape – for better or for worse - but these days I'm a writer and videographer as well."

It was an ordinary afternoon when we met him and his lovely wife in a café. One can immediately recognize him by his abundant tattoos. "I tend to get tattoos in places that make a great impression on me," says Rueben, "and I regard them as a collection of indelible memories." Here in China, he got a piece of Chinese culture - the dragon - on his body as well.

The Road to Becoming a Chef

Food is another thing that he is very serious about. "My mom was always cooking something at home, but I noticed that the foods she made were quite different from what I saw on TV cooking shows." When Rueben was actually allowed to start playing with a knife, he would try to copy what he saw the TV Chefs doing, and even at an early age, he developed some impressive knife skills. This inspired him to become a Chef in the future. However, like most typical parents, his mother and father insisted that he finish his studies and find a decent job instead.

Indeed, after he graduated from a college, he found a job in an office. However, he was so disappointed at the life of wearing a tie and sitting in an office with a bunch of corporate-types every day, that he decided to go back to school again. He applied for a classical apprenticeship program with the American Culinary Federation, and although he had to support himself while completing his studies, he regarded it as the best time of his life. Then his cooking career began, starting from a low-level cook all the way up to Executive Chef. "I was happy, but I was getting bored. I discovered that I was spending more time doing administrative tasks, and less time playing with food." For this risk-taker, a change was bound to happen again.

Getting Away from Chasing Money

In Rueben's opinion, the greatest failure one can make in life is from being overcome by the fear of trying something new. After getting advice from some trusted associates in the food industry, he applied for a sales position without much concern over what was going to happen. "It was a radical shift from my years of working in the Culinary Industry," says Rueben, "but I needed something new." After breaking into the business with a small company that dealt in office supplies, Rueben eventually found himself with a position as a Sales Manager for Panasonic's North American Division. "I got a lot of valuable experience from my time with Panasonic, but it was extremely high-pressure work, and I grew tired of chasing outrageous sales goals." He stopped working for a few months and took a long vacation, traveling to South America, Canada, and Mexico, amongst other places. Eventually, he started looking toward the East, because his childhood interest in Japanese culture had never vanished. However, Rueben chose China as his first stop because of all the increasing media attention the country was gaining, besides being the root of Asian culture. "To be honest, I thought I would be in China for about six months. Now I've been here for almost four years."