Austrian chef defies doctors with device that keeps him cooking
After a debilitating motorcycle accident, Austrian chef Peter Lammer was told he would never work in his beloved kitchen again. But now he's helping others with disabilities return to the labour market, with a device he and a friend designed which has proved the experts wrong. - REUTERS
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00:00Austrian chef Peter Lammer is performing miracles in his Salzburg kitchen, and not just with
00:06the food he creates. He swings through his restaurant with ease. But after a motorcycle
00:13accident in 2010, his dream job was in jeopardy. After six years of surgeries, experts said
00:21he would never be able to work in a profession on his feet again.
00:272016 was the turning point in my life. That was when I said, I can't go on. Because everyone,
00:33all the experts, said that I would never be able to do a standing job again. And of course
00:38I felt that in my feet, so the pain confirmed it all.
00:45He finally called on the help of his friend, an amateur metal worker, Bernard Tihy. The
00:51pair designed a C-shaped bracket with an adjustable seat which allows him to float
00:56on rails and turn endlessly from workstation to workstation.
01:04How can you move around with this device now? We have these rails that are mounted freestanding
01:09on the ceiling or above the workstation. Then we have rollers that run along these rails
01:14so that you can move around the entire area below.
01:22The first prototype was actually the signpost for me back to having joy in life and the
01:26future. I knew that things could only go uphill from then on, and everything else that the
01:31others said was not true. They checked me and it's actually true because I've been sitting
01:39here since 2016, that's already eight years, and now I have my shop and my passion.
01:49The two friends believe their hanging seat system is one of a kind worldwide. They even
01:55decided against selling their patent for the device to keep the price affordable for those
01:59who need it most. With their company's standing ovation and support from the Austrian government,
02:06they now help others with disabilities back into the labour market.