Jonaviškė quit his job in a restaurant to set up a culinary studio: “The head was always full of ideas” | Deal

S.Daškevičienė said that she had dreamed of becoming a Lithuanian language teacher or journalist at school, and had not even considered the culinary profession. But the kitchen seems to have become her blood, because, as she said, both her grandfather and the woman’s mother cooked it very well.

“I wrote articles for the school newspaper and participated in writing contests. But somehow it turned out that I dedicated myself to cooking. I cannot explain why I chose this profession. I just joined, I realized that I like it and I want to do it, it gives me joy. I don’t even know what I could do other than produce ”, she is convinced.

After the loss of a man – cardinal changes

S.Daškevičienė has been working in various kitchens since the age of 20, and in his last job he has worked most of his career for 11 years. But everything changed because of a tragedy in the family.

“My husband retired from life. After his loss, it was quite difficult to recover, there was depression, apathy and all kinds of things. There were also loans, many liabilities. All this encouraged me to do something ”, he assured.

However, a few months after the loss of her husband, S.Daškevičienė was asked by acquaintances to prepare a bite of sandwiches for the celebration. That was the beginning of his business.

“Of course, I made sandwiches at home, at the same time the idea of ​​developing my own activities matured, and at the same time I matured and changed. I had to go through very big transformations inside to change and do something, ”he said.

From snacks to events

When the woman built a sizable client base, she finally dared to open her studio and leave a high-paying job.

“My head was always full of ideas and I never had a place to help them. I wouldn’t have opened a restaurant or cafe because it has to be pretty upscale to be something in a small town. I kept watching my children in the kitchen and seeing the mess they left, so I thought it would be a lot of fun to teach others what I was teaching, ”said S. Daškevičienė about how the idea of ​​a culinary study was born.

It took about 3,000 in total to start a business. euros. Although the amount is small, they were sufficient.

“I used my savings, I read many articles on how to start a business with a minimum income. Of course, I did not rush to buy everything at once, but little by little. From the beginning I needed furniture, utensils to be able to interact with the children, tools, tables, rolls ”, he assured.

The food studio, opened a year ago, offers not only snacks, but also tastings, themed culinary courses, education and children’s parties.

“Children love to bake pizzas, we make various desserts. Products are prepared, I teach theory, I teach them, I explain to them how to do what, how to do it better, and that is how we produce. Also before Christmas, I organized fish stuffing lessons for adults, about 15 women got together and we worked quite actively, stuffing fish and then taking them home, ”said S. Daškevičienė.

The lunch of the day became a salvation

After the New Year, S. Daškevičienė decided to expand his activities and prepare lunch for the day, but it turned out to be a business trip.

“If it weren’t for lunch, my studies would have ended here. No more orders, no holidays, I had the most important events and everything was canceled. The lunch of the day helped me survive the quarantine,” she is convinced.

But during this period, S.Daškevičienė distributed soup free of charge to everyone who worked remotely.

“While I was in the store, I saw a tired salesman, a lot of people and their poor work and work. I was wondering, what can you do with these hardworking people? At least some small gesture to show gratitude. And then shot in the head to share the soup.

For those who ordered the lunch of the day, the soup was free. Together, I partnered with the Center for Social Services to transport free soup to families. I got policemen, an ambulance and I handed them over, ”he said.

When asked how he managed to differentiate himself from other places offering a similar service, S. Daškevičienė said he did not know. However, he offered to offer a wider variety of dishes and tried to surprise customers.

“For example, I baked a bubble waffle with different stews, meats, different things to make it a little more interesting than anywhere else. Maybe it helped me ”, said the interlocutor.

It is true that S.Daškevičienė stopped producing the day’s lunch during the quarantine relief, because little by little orders began to return and she could not cope with the load alone. In addition, he says, he does not consider the quarantine to be a decrease.

“It was only the quarantine that gave me an idea of ​​what I wanted to do myself, who my client was, discover new recipes, create something new. He gave more than he took away. That head is full of ideas and I still want to do it, do it, “he summarized.