How Chef Eli Kulp's Transition to Disability Can Help You Learn Resiliency During Covid Quarantine
Image: chef Eli Kulp sits in his motorized wheelchair in khakis and a sweater outside of FORK restaurant in Philadelphia. Photo by Neal Santos.
When you work in hospitality, not being able to go to restaurants is an absence that cuts particularly deep. “It's one of the worst feelings you can have—that you literally can't go somewhere,” says Eli Kulp, culinary director and co-founder of High Street Hospitality Group out of Philadelphia.
Many chefs have mourned this loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Kulp’s referring to other accessibility issues entirely: On May 12, 2015, he was commuting on an Amtrak train between Philadelphia and New York when it derailed at high speed. His body slammed into a luggage rack, paralyzing him. Quadriplegic, a large motorized wheelchair now provides him independent movement—but not into everywhere he wants to go.
“You thought you did enough research, but now you're there and can't get in,” he explains. “Or the doors are not wide enough. Or the tables aren't configured in a way that makes you physically able to navigate. Or the bathrooms might be a flight up or a flight down.”
Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act that was signed into law in 1990, many older buildings are still not accessible. Kulp’s restaurants are, coincidentally, accessible enough that he can enter them. But he can’t easefully navigate their kitchens or dining rooms. “That was a little tough for me to get used to,” he says. A portable ramp gets him over two steps where needed, and he communicates his accommodation needs in advance. But when facing a staircase or narrow entryway?
“Without a doubt, not being able to physically access a space...it feels wrong,” he says.
