How I Got Here: Chris Hansen
Posted on
Admit it, we’ve all been there – stalking social media and LinkedIn profiles, trying desperately to figure out how the hell someone got their dream job.
It seems impossible and yet there they are, living out your career fantasy (minus the itchy business suit). It might seem hard to believe, but once upon a time, they were also fantasising about their future career, and with some hard work, they made it.
Welcome to How I Got Here, HerCanberra’s series that reveals everything you want to know about the secrets of career success. This week, we delve into the career of hospitality guru Chris Hansen.
Existential crisis time: Who are you and what do you do?
A child of Canberra in the 1970s, I took my ANU degree in Australian History and put it in the bottom drawer for a few decades while I worked in, managed and owned several Canberra restaurants. I retired from the industry about 13 years ago and started my own recruitment business, specialising in hospitality and professional services.
Eight days into the pandemic lockdowns, I launched a food-delivery business called Canberra Eats. It employed a dozen out-of-work drivers and offered a more equitable delivery model that helped around 40 local restaurants maintain their margins. Since then, the recruitment business has focused solely on professional services.
I began writing reviews for The Canberra Times in 2021, which led to my book Chefs Eat Canberra, profiling 30 of Canberra’s best chefs, their venues and their favourite places to eat. I even dusted off the history degree and wrote a substantial section on the history of Canberra’s restaurant industry, which hadn’t been documented before. I self-published the book, handled distribution myself and somehow reached 6,000 copies sold.
Much of 2025 has been spent helping Hao Chen, the owner of Raku, bring his story to life in Hao’s Canberra, which will be released this December. Next year I’ll be publishing Chefs Eat Brisbane in partnership with a local author. I’ve also recently launched an app-based mobile training platform specialising in hospitality and real-estate property-management training.
Let’s go back to when you were a kid – did you always dream of working in this industry?
These days I work across recruitment, media, publishing and training, so no, I never dreamed of any of these industries. As a young kid I wanted to be a judge, but then I found out that you had to have a law degree to do it! My tertiary studies left the field wide open. I never wanted to work in government or for big corporates. I’ve always been drawn to the flexibility and opportunity of working for myself, no matter the industry. It’s not that I have a problem with authority, but there is a kind of excitement in knowing that if you want to feed your family and pay the mortgage, you must ‘make things happen’ if you are self employed.
When you were first starting out, what set a fire in your belly and how did you make it happen?
In the early days, I had a great time working for – and later partnering with – Josiah Li from the Chairman Group. He encouraged me to keep an open mind and always look for new opportunities. He also developed my interest in food, which is something that so many people connect with. Ask someone what their favourite restaurant is and why and you’ll often learn a lot about them!
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in. What did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
I’ve hit that point more than a few times. But eventually the penny dropped: we don’t live forever. It’s easy to obsess over small problems – I certainly have that streak – but once we’re gone, none of it matters. Around 100 billion people have lived here over the centuries, and I’m sure most of them had far bigger problems than mine.
What was your biggest break?
It may sound strange, but honestly, being born in Australia is like winning the lottery. When you look at the hardship and instability in so many parts of the world, Canberra really is a kind of utopia.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My father has delivered plenty of pearls. They range from “Be careful who you let near your mind, because negative thinking can be contagious” to “Never feed strawberries to pigs”.
What is it about your industries that you love, and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
On the recruitment side, I love the thrill of finding the perfect candidate – the one who delights the client and shifts someone’s career in a positive direction. The frustration is that much of Canberra’s industry revolves around government roles.
On the food-media side, I never tire of visiting new restaurants and am always interested in the new ideas and concepts that people create with great food. I do struggle with the concept of industry “influencers.” Anyone with a social-media account can declare themselves an expert and ask a restaurant for a free meal based solely on follower numbers. I always pay for my own dinner!
How do you stay in the know? What media do you consume?
In recent years I’ve become hooked on podcasts. I try to listen broadly, across both sides of politics, but always through a sceptical lens. For restaurant news, Instagram is the best – visual, current and immediate.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I’m really enjoying using AI to create new products and I think we’re on the cusp of a wave of creative new businesses. Right now I’m using it to rethink how staff training apps are built. But honestly, that’s only the plan for 2026. I never really look five years ahead, although I probably should at some stage!
Why should people follow in your footsteps?
I’d encourage anyone to seek diversity in their work. For the past 50 years, the focus has been on specialisation and building deep expertise in one field. But I think the age of the generalist is coming. Have a crack at something new or you’ll never know if it could have been your thing.
What advice would you give your past self?
I’ve always loved that line from Slumdog Millionaire: “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s definitely not the end.”
