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We met Pavel Kolesnik, unfortunately, not on the pilaf plate. The day we saw Visaginas, we just had a chat, tasting a dish that made this man famous not only among Lithuanians, postponing summer in Dzūkija.
Why in Dzūkija, if Pavel is a Visaginas? Everything is simple, that is, in Dzūkija, Merkinė, in the summer courtyard of World Pots, P. Kolesnik’s pilaf should be cooking already this season.
Diversity of activities
Pavel’s activities are diverse. As he himself says, from an online store to food delivery services: “Online shopping is one of the main activities, many things have come together here. This is an Uzbek boiler import, I have created my own line of spices, boiler accessories that are made based on my experience. These are strainers and so on. So both creation and production and sales. Well, I make my own food. “
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Pavel Kolesnik
It all, as Pavel says, started when he became the champion of pilaf production in eight countries. Then people started wondering where to buy boiler accessories. “There is still no physical store, I still don’t have time, too many ideas,” he smiles.
Try, as he says, to do everything you can, because finding the right employees to delegate part of the activity is not easy. Now he has three people, whose search did not take long or short: three years.
“Since I don’t want to give it to anyone, there are times when another chef goes somewhere, and then people call me and say: it wasn’t like that, I don’t like it. As a result, it takes a long time to find employees,” he admits. Pavel.
The king of dishes is pilaf
Their food menu is Uzbek cuisine, everything that is said to be “in wood”.
The king of all dishes is pilaf. And we go to baptisms, the second wedding day, corporate parties, this is the main dish.
“The king of all dishes is pilaf. And we go to baptisms, the second wedding day, corporate parties, this is the main dish. We arrived at the place, then it took us four hours to produce, from the lighting of the firewood to the end. We serve all guests, tell us what it is and both.
It has become very popular on the second day of the wedding, but sometimes it is also reserved for the first day, when the guests are always waiting for the young people who are always late, ”says Pavel about the service offered.
Photo from personal archive / pilaf of Pavel Kolesnik
According to him, people like such entertainment, so it is necessary to produce pilaf both at large parties in nature and even in apartments. He started this activity about 4-5 years ago. Then, as he says, he worked as one of the executives in the logistics company. But he loved producing even then.
“So I worked my regular job all week, and I often produced on Saturdays and Sundays. A month later, more wishes appeared: soups. This required boilers, firewood. He bought boilers, the desire to wash, cook, began.
About a year later, I approached the director and said, thank you, I quit my job. But he himself pushed me. This is how my journey started, ”Pavel said of the impetus to start the current business.
Plovo bath
Last year, Pavel says he produced around 4.5 tons of pilaf. He said he would have a 250-liter boiler, which he had to produce more than once.
“It just came to our knowledge then. There are seven sheep traveling there, 70 kg of carrots. There is something to do. It is also physically difficult work. That is how everything expanded, people from the same team started inviting me to personal celebrations, one appeared. Facebook page, etc.
The theory is one, sometimes a person calls and says: I know everything, but it fails. Experience is needed to mix the hand well ”, the Visaginas smile.
The bathroom is like that. Seven sheep travel there, 70 kg of carrots. There is something to do. It is also physically difficult work.
Pavel became the champion of the eight-country Pavel Championship. These events are organized by a restaurant in Druskininkai. The last one took place in 2019, where teams from Azerbaijan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Lithuania and other countries participated.
“There is one condition: you start at noon and at 4 pm You must finish producing the wash. Have your own equipment. When you finish, you give it to the commission for evaluation, and everything else is sold to the festival participants, The whole pilaf should cost the same: a large chunk of about three euros The event takes place during the Tulip Bloom Festival.
Evaluated according to several criteria: general taste, salt, rice flow and presentation. Previously, only emoticons were put on, they ranked first, second and third, without judging others. Now, according to the new decision, the commission cannot consult each other, must maintain distance, the commission members evaluate without comment in their notes according to the criteria. I scored 169 points and I was the first ”, Pavel recalled from the last championship, without hiding the joy that both the Uzbek team and the restaurants were behind.
Photo from personal archive / Pavelas Kolesnikas
Pavel himself assembled and sold spice mixes, which are sold not only in the online store, but also in supermarkets. As they say, there are currently 11 sets.
“The whole line is how I like it. People like it, maybe I put a lot of affection on it ”, smiles Visagina. “I ate the spices, I still use them, but not in such quantities.”
So far, Pavel says that he has lived in both Vilnius and Visaginas, but has already planned to move to his hometown; his wife will work here, so there will be no more disturbances. And nature: lake, pine forest. Both with their wives were born in Visaginas, so they say the decision to return was not difficult. While you don’t draw lines, you may even have other thoughts in the future and try to develop elsewhere.
“Radioactive lazy people”
And Olga Mazniova, curator of youth entrepreneurial initiatives at the Visaginas Technological and Business Professional Training Center, is not an entrepreneur herself, but the students at this center create small businesses that have not been seen before, at least in Visaginas.
“Last year, we were the most enterprising team in Lithuania, and we came up with the idea to produce sweets, ‘sloths’, in various forms, and sell them as ‘radioactive sloths’.
It was the simplest idea, but it really worked. Interest was high, there was no shortage of orders. We also had such bright advertising, ”Olga said about the creativity of the students by showing a small office loaded with various things.
Radiation room
Another idea for your students attending the Entrepreneurship Club is the JUMANJI Escape Room. This phenomenon had already become much more popular in Lithuania, but Visaginas did not have one. So the idea was implemented and gained popularity.
“It was the first business, it was born out of necessity. We talk with the students about what our city lacks, what can be done to come to our school. There were many ideas and one girl suggested taking a class and setting up an escape room. None of us had ever been in a room like this before, ”recalls O. Mazniova.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Creativity and Entrepreneurship Education Class
The director of the center gladly agreed to provide the place, he, as Olga says, will never say that the idea of the students is nonsense.
“When we came up with the idea, we went to see what it was like in Kaunas, the idea of making a radiation room was born, we were about 20. And see who wanted only in tongues, and who is really ready for work. In the end, We only had eight people, ”Olga recalls with a smile.
This idea was appreciated at European level: the team went to Helsinki and received the award as the most entrepreneurial school.
The escape room is still working now, except quarantine has locked it in for a long time. However, as soon as the pandemic ends, activities will continue. We now have two rooms here: Harry Potter and the Radiation. The idea of the first may change, it will be a new topic for the tasks, but it is not intended to give radiation near the Ignalina nuclear power plant.
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