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| Saltoniškių g. 29/3 SPAUSTUVĖ AB „PUNTUKAS“ |
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Interviu su virėja Vilija iš valgyklos Žvėryne „PUNTUKAS“.
How long have you been working here?
Well, for 15 years.
And before this canteen? Did you work anywhere else?
Yes, I was also working as a cook. And as a chef.
So how many years in total do you work in this sphere?
Oh, I think around 25 years at all.
Where did you learn how to cook?
I've had the courses. There used to be courses for cooking.
Could you please be more specific?
There used to be a cookery school in the Žirmūnai district (Žirmūnai cookery school). I don't what is there now.
Do you love your job?
I like it (laughing).
What are you responsible for?
Generally, I work with meat dishes. When we get meat, I do everything with it - from A to Z.
Do you also prepare meat for cepelinai (the Lithuanian traditional dish, a type of dumpling made from grated potatoes and usually stuffed with minced meat)?
Yes, tomorrow we are going to cook cepelinai.
Perhaps people eat many cepelinai here? Is it the most popular dish here?
We usually have cepelinai on Thursdays. People, who like cepelinai, know this already.
How many cepelinai do you cook a day?
We used to do around 50 portions, so it means 100 cepelinai.
What do you do if you see that cepelinai are almost finished?
We don't cook additionally, because we prepare everything in the morning. And people don't wait for an order to be cooked ?. They come and want to eat at once. It is not a restaurant where you order and wait for a dish to be cooked.
And when do you start making cepelinai? At what time?
We start at 9.30 a.m., so that we could serve it at 10.30 a.m.
Do you peal potatoes by hands or maybe you have a machine for that?
We have a special machine.
And what about dishes? Do you have a dish washing machine?
We used to have one. Now we don't have, and less people come to eat, too.
Where do you get recipes?
From the book. The director gives it to us.
Could you show us that book?
Well you have to ask the director. Because she gives the book to us, to know the amounts, ingredients in the dishes.
Does the dishes change over the time?
Well, we change them. We make experiments. If we see that people like the result, we continue cooking that way.
Which experiments were really successful?
Well, people eat everything. There is no one exceptional.
And what about visitors taste? Did it change over the passed 25 years?
I couldn't say it remained the same. Nowadays we have more ingredients that it used to be. There used to be fewer dishes with fillings. Only on celebrations, banquets. Nowadays there are more sauces. There used to be more minced dishes - like minced meatballs, etc. Nowadays people prefer natural food, so there would be less cooking. Now we have to prepare a stew, a steak and something from minced meat. It means five - seven dishes a day. Everyday we cook something different.
Is the canteen food different as it is kept warm all day in the pots?
Well, we never leave the food for the next day. We cook and we serve everything.
Do you have any constant everyday customers?
It happens sometimes that the same people come to eat here. People come from the banks, from the places nearby.
What do you like to cook the most? Is there such a dish?
Well, I don't care. I am used to cook everything.
And what do you cook at home?
The same dishes as in the canteen. What else could I think of? Except maybe some different sauce.
Do you cook something exotic, non-traditional?
Yes, we cook chicken in Chinese way. Perhaps not that spicy as Chinese like.
There used to be a general plan for the canteen and that all the recipes had to be approved. Does this system function nowadays too?
Oh no, not anymore. We can cook whatever we want. It is important to know the recipes. It helps to fix the price. Sometimes we think of the recipes by ourselves and we suggest what to cook.
Do you like to watch cooking shows on TV?
Yes, it is very interesting. You can see something new.
Do you know Oliver?
Well, he cooks witha lot of ingredients. We don't have them. It's more difficult. If it was a restaurant, it would be different. People come here to eat and to eat fast.
Can the taste of a dish depend on your mood or the weather?
I think if you don't like your job, the dish would taste different. When you cook with love, it's always tasty.
What is the most important thing in your kitchen?
I think it's the oven that we have bought. It's huge.
What do you think the Dutch eat for their lunch?
...(Thinking)... I know they eat pasta in Italy... A friend of my daughter lives there, so she said it's all about pasta there.
And do people order double portions? Does it happen?
Yes, it happens, yes. There used to be people who would order the double portion and couldn't finish it . Now it's over. They take one dish and if it's not enough, then they order the second one.
If you meet a customer, do you say hello? Maybe you know some of their names?
Well, names, no, we don't know. But if we meet a familiar face, we say hello. However, we say hello to all of the customers. It creates a better atmosphere here.
Perhaps you have some stories from the canteen life to tell?
There used to be the wedding receptions held. Even my daughter's wedding took place here. The canteen looked very nice, we recorded everything. It looks not so nice now, though I guess we are used to this view...
And this flower shop. Was it always here?
When I started working here, there was some kind of shop. A small one.
And do you have any vision of where you are going to be in ten years? A dream?
Well, I like this job. I think I couldn't imagine myself in another place.
So I guess there is no other job you would like to take?
Yes, it's a creative job and I like it. Well, if the cook didn't like to cook, the food wouldn't be tasty.
Do you have any children? How did you combine your family and your job?
I have two daughters and a son. One daughter is already married. I used to take them to kindergarten when they were little. Now we work from six a.m. Earlier we used to work from seven a.m., so I had enough time to take children to kindergarten.
Perhaps earlier the system in the canteen was different?
Well, generally it's the same system as always has been. You have to clean after yourself, etc.
When does your working day start?
At 6 a.m. I work till 2 p.m. In Soviet period we used to work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Have the visitors of the canteen changed over the time?
Perhaps they started to eat more vegetables. They care about their health more. Visitors like cepelinai, Kugel, potato pancakes, etc. Some people, for example, order a steak without any additions. They even ask to serve it on a big plate. Only meat, that's it. People are used to ask what they want. Some will eat Kugel with sour cream, some with graves sauce. Some people eat only beef. If it's not on the menu - then they order chicken. They don't eat pork, anyway.
How many people work in the canteen?
We are five women: a washer, a cashier who is also preparing farinaceous dishes, one lady who is making salads and one lady who is baking pies and buns.
Is it enough to be five of you to be in time?
Yes, we are always in time with dishes.
How many visitors do you serve a day?
Now it's less than it used to be. About a hundred persons a day.
And how many there used to come earlier?
About 200 visitors. There used to be long queue in 2007 - 2008. It became less people before the New Year. Nowadays people don't have money.
Was it enough space for all the visitors?
Well, if there was not enough space here, clients used to go the buffet.
How about the staff? They work here for a long time?
Yes. Now the staff is great. It is the same for five year now.
Who is hiring new people?
Director, she has to decide. If someone leaves, the new worker has to come.