As a result of the quarantine, the remaining chef has discovered a new occupation: urging not to be afraid to change professions.

I got into a professional crisis

Virginia Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova’s life turned upside down in 2014, when she moved to Bulgaria. The main reason is love and the future husband.

At that time, the girl had graduated from journalism studies at Vilnius University, where she obtained a master’s degree in semiotics. After her studies, the girl worked at the Zarasai Public Library as a public relations representative, worked as a freelance journalist and prepared various projects. One of them was the European Voluntary Service, whose aim was to attract volunteers to the Zarasai Library.

This is how the future husband of V. Pupeikytė Ivanas came to Zarasai. Within a month, the young people became close, and when Ivan left for Bulgaria, they mainly interacted for more years, until the two finally decided that they had matured to live together. Therefore, V. Pupeikytė packed his bags and went to live in Bulgaria. There she soon married Ivan and became Mrs. Dzhumerova.

And while living in Bulgaria, the journalist collaborated with Lithuanian portals for some time, wrote articles for them and finally even published the book “Taming Bulgaria”.

“And then I found myself stuck with all those writing because I wrote about everything I could. I have always focused on quality content and have had to admit that working remotely, searching for that quality content in Bulgaria is no longer an option. I just ran away.

Of course, I also went to job interviews in Bulgaria for jobs related to my profession, but I had to take off my glasses and admit that the Lithuanian language, which is only spoken by 3 million people in the world. people are not interested in anyone. I don’t know the local language, so I couldn’t find a job. I found myself in a crisis and at a crossroads, ” recalled the interlocutor of the blog Euroblogas.lt.

The casual acquaintance of two Lithuanians helped to get out of the professional crisis. That acquaintance determined that V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova began studying at the HRC Culinary Academy in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. This school is very popular, it was graduated by many famous chefs in Lithuania. It is also unique in that it sends its students to the most famous European and American hotels and restaurants for internships.

“At first it was a nefaina that Virginia, with all her masters in semiotics, was standing in the kitchen and shaving carrots. But I made my way and everything went in the right direction, ” smiled the young woman, who decided to bet on gastronomy.

He stated that cooking was never alien to him.

“I’ve always been very interested in how flour, eggs and sugar mixed in different proportions turn into different things. As far as I can remember, I experimented in the kitchen from a young age. But I never took it seriously because I always knew that I wanted to be a journalist, that my passion was writing. Also, both my husband and I are true eaters. Even before starting my culinary studies, we enjoyed visiting restaurants and not for prestige. We went to eat, to taste, to nibble on the food, to see how the dishes were built ”, said the interlocutor.

Remained “on ice” during quarantine

In March 2017, V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova became a student at HRC Culinary Academy. In it, science lasts two years. However, after the first half of the year, the student did an internship at a restaurant in the Netherlands, and her second internship was in England, in Hampshire, at the restaurant of the famous Four Seasons hotel.

“When the half-year internship ended, they offered me to stay at work. I stayed and was no longer an intern, but one of the bosses, only, of course, I was still on the lowest rung, because I had just finished my studies. I worked in the restaurant of this Four Seasons hotel for a year and a half in total. And then I got a little bored, and besides, it was a corner of England, I wanted to go to London, so I started looking for a new job, ”said V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova.

He participated in at least 10 job interviews, which were not simple interviews, but a half-day test in the kitchen where he observed how he works, how he communicates, how he understands tasks.

“I really gained a lot of experience because I was not only watching, but I was also watching. I have seen many different English cuisines. After all but one of these conversations, I received an invitation to work. However, I turned them all down because after the Four Seasons, my bill went up very high. However, after my job search, my self-confidence increased a lot, I realized that everything is fine for me if almost everyone wants to hire me “, said the interlocutor of the blog Euroblogas.lt.

So, even without a new job, she asked to be fired from Four Seasons. He considered resting for a few weeks and then starting work in a new kitchen because, according to the interlocutor, finding work in England is certainly not difficult for a chef.

“And then the pandemic began, the quarantine and I was completely on ice. Everything is closed, I don’t have a job, I sit in England and my husband is in Bulgaria. It is true that at first I was still very skeptical about this pandemic, thinking that in a month everything would end, life would return to normal. But the further we go, the worse the situation gets. We consulted with Ivan and decided it was time for him to return to Bulgaria. Of course, the man was waiting for me a lot, because during those and a half years we saw each other only once a month, we flew to each other. The man was certainly not happy with my departure to England, but it was a sacrifice for my career. Therefore, I was very happy when I returned, “laughed V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova.

But it wasn’t fun for herself. In Bulgaria, it felt redundant again in a professional sense, as a strict quarantine was also introduced in this country and cafes and restaurants were closed.

“I came back last April and for a couple of months everything was fine because I was just resting. And he didn’t think the world could be closed for so long. I soon received an invitation to work in Croatia during the invitation season, but I couldn’t get out of there because I can’t go anywhere. Then, after the joy of being with my husband again, who could rest, the boredom began. I had to have something, I just didn’t think about what it could be, “said the chef.

There were two critical moments

She mentioned that two critical moments, as she calls herself, pushed her towards new activities. One of them was in June of last year. At the time, the coronavirus was easing its grip a bit, allowing people to travel more freely. Seizing the opportunity, V. Pupeikyt Taking-Dzhumerova flew to Lithuania to visit her relatives.

“And everyone asked me what I promise to do now, what will happen to my career. My cousin, really wanting nothing wrong, regretted that he knows many women who bake cakes at home and have so many assignments that they can barely spin. I didn’t answer anything, I just swallowed the bitterness that no one understands what studies I graduated from, what kind of chefs in the world I worked with, that good food is not baking cakes.

But I also had to admit to myself that I couldn’t bake cakes because we didn’t teach ourselves those things at the academy. I understand that it sounds paradoxical that you graduate from culinary studies, work as a chef, make desserts, but you can’t make cakes, “admitted the interlocutor.

The second critical moment, he said, was when the guests arrived at the man’s work, had to be fed and had to buy a cake from the store.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Then I asked the man why they hadn’t asked him, because he would have prepared delicacies for him. And Ivan said,” But Virginia, you can’t bake cakes. “Then my ego finally got offended, but I had to admit that I really can’t. And I learned stubbornly. There’s YouTube, the Internet, and my patience and self-discipline. I started learning how to bake cakes. They were all delicious, but much more difficult to make them beautiful. The main thing I strive for is a balance between beauty and taste, ”emphasized V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova.

Dreaming of your own coffee or bakery

For four years, since he began his studies at the Culinary Academy, he has been writing a blog called Tekstoran on the social network Facebook. In it, she also wrote about the fact that she began to learn how to bake cakes, shared her discoveries, and posted photos of her work. Therefore, it is natural that there are customers who want to buy the baked cakes of V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova.

“I don’t really make millions. In my own experience, I want to say more that it is possible to achieve everything if there is a desire. People should not be afraid to change careers, look for new things. I would like to encourage determination, and quarantine is perfect. for that, because activities are also needed to prevent you from going crazy ”, smiled the chef.

Although she admits that she could not really survive baking cakes and can afford to experiment because she has a financially stable husband, V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova hoped that the new passion could turn into a business in the future. And even if it fails, the new skill only enriches life, making it a discovery, not a loss.

“Now I see everything as an opportunity to shape my good image, to show people how I work, what I do. In reality, baking those cakes now is a slow, long-term investment that will turn into something else later. Maybe it’s preparatory work to open your own café or bakery. Cake is certainly not good food, but if one understands at least a little about food, it is obvious to him that these cakes are baked by a person with professional cooking experience. The ingredients of the cakes are also important to me, I make everything from scratch. And I use many techniques that are used in a professional kitchen, ” emphasized the interlocutor.

V. Pupeikytė-Dzhumerova shares the secrets and tips of cooking and making cakes on her Tekstorano page on the social network Facebook, because, according to herself, it would be very selfish to keep all available information and experience only for you.