For GIANTS chef Adam Miskelly, becoming a chef was always the plan. 

There was just one problem. 

His older brother had already been down that road – and he wasn't exactly encouraging Miskelly to follow in his footsteps. 

“After high school I wasn’t sure what to do, but I knew I wanted to be a chef,” he recalled. 

“My older brother was a chef. 

“However, he was kind of broken down already. He was about 28 and he was sick of it. He was telling me, ‘Don’t get into the industry.’” 

Miskelly listened – initially. 

“I decided to do a cert four in software design instead. I did that for a year and then I got a job in IT, but I did that for three months and I hated it.” 

Knowing the IT industry wasn’t for him, Miskelly eventually followed his heart.  

“I travelled for a bit and then decided to do a chef’s apprenticeship. I knew I wanted to get into that industry." 

That decision would prove to be the beginning of a career that would eventually lead him to the GIANTS, where almost a decade later he would be recognised by his peers as the club’s 2026 Staff Member of the Year. 

Miskelly spent the start of his four-year apprenticeship working at a small restaurant in Gordon before moving to a hotel in Sydney and later spending a year at the renowned Tetsuya’s, then one of the city’s premier restaurants. 

“It was a three-hat restaurant,” he said.  

From there, he finished his apprenticeship, became a qualified chef and worked across several hotels before running a pub out near Blacktown in Prospect.  

“It was a Heritage pub there, and that did really well.” 

Despite his success Miskelly was ready for a change. He had grown frustrated with the industry.  

“I was being taken advantage of a little bit by some people and at that point I was done with cooking and I was ready to quit.” 

It was while looking for that next opportunity that the path to the GIANTS opened up.  

In late 2017 the GIANTS previous catering provider left midway through the season. 

A Melbourne-based caterer – and former Essendon star- Jason Johnson, came in to help establish a new operation and was looking for a chef. 

Miskelly thought why not. He applied, and he was offered the job. 

Johnson remained with the club for about a year before returning to Melbourne, leaving Miskelly to take over the operation. 

With everything going smoothly, and Miskelly loving his life at club land, a bump in the road soon appeared – COVID.  

With the GIANTS’ entire playing group eventually entering a hub and much of the club’s staff working remotely, Miskelly found himself taking on a role that extended well beyond the walls of the kitchen. 

Since he didn't travel with the playing group into the hub, he was asked to prepare meals for the players’ families left behind in Sydney.  

“I'd make the meals on a Monday and then the next day I’d drive all around Sydney and drop it off to their houses.”  

It was an unusual chapter in what had already been an unconventional career path, but it helped further establish Miskelly as a valued part of the GIANTS. 

Nearly eight years after first arriving at the club, he says he’s found a role that suits both his experience and his personality. 

“From a management point of view, it's good because I sort of run my own race, which is nice,” he said.  

“And then you kind of get constant feedback [on the food], good or bad.” 

Usually, he says, it's good. 

“Normally people say if it's good, or say thanks, so it's pretty appreciated.” 

For Miskelly, the job is simple: provide the players with good food and help them perform at their best. 

He particularly enjoys the style of food required in a professional sporting environment. 

“I enjoy cooking and I enjoy the style of food, the health-conscious, cleaner style of food, fresh food,” he said.  

It is that understated approach to his work that perhaps best explains his reaction to recently being named the club's Staff Member of the Year. 

“I was probably a bit embarrassed about it at first,” he admitted. 

“It was kind of like, ‘I'm just doing my job and it’s not that special.’ 

“I’m just cooking some chicken and some veggies.” 

But beneath the self-deprecation, the award meant a great deal. 

“It's nice to be appreciated officially. Unofficially, I was appreciated, but it's good to officially be appreciated, and then it's good that people know who I am,” he laughed.  

That appreciation was on full display when Miskelly was presented with the award at the Kevin Sheedy Medal count last week, an occasion made even more special by being able to bring his partner along. 

“Yeah, it was really nice,” he said.  

“Normally I’m away [when the Kevin Sheedy Medal is on] so I haven't been in that circle of socialising for a while. So it was nice, and my partner joined me, and I look forward to next year.” 

Miskelly's connection to the club is perhaps all the more interesting given he arrived as a former Swans supporter. 

Growing up in Mount Druitt, he followed the Swans during the Paul Kelly era of the mid-1990s and continued watching the club through its resurgence in the early 2000s. 

“I was a Swans fan, for sure,” he admitted somewhat unashamedly while donning his GIANTS work uniform.  

But by the time the opportunity at the GIANTS came along, his allegiances had cooled. 

“If I was growing up now, I'd probably be a GIANTS fan,” he said with a laugh. 

“I wasn't given any option growing up.” 

His years at the GIANTS have since given him a different appreciation of what it takes to build a football club. 

For Miskelly, one of the biggest strengths of the organisation is its culture. 

“Everyone's sort of on the same team kind of thing,” he said.  

“So we just want to get our jobs done and work towards a goal. I think that’s a great thing about the club.”  

What began as a job has since become an eight-year journey, with Miskelly now firmly entrenched as one of the most valued members of the GIANTS.