Near the limit, Ljubomir Stanisic’s cry of despair: we are on the brink of death – National

OR Chef Ljubomir Stanisic, 42, television star and owner of 100 Maneiras, in Lisbon, led demonstrations in Porto and the capital for the survival of those who make a living from restaurants, tourism and culture and ended up a victim of xenophobic attacks and partisan exploitation. About to start with the Portuguese version of Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ at SIC, the Yugoslav chef has been the face and voice of the revolt at the forefront of the ‘Surviving Bread and Water’ movement. Defend a sector that is dying, due to the crisis caused by the pandemic. In an interview with TV Guia he left a cry of warning and despair. “It is a struggle for the tens of thousands of people in the sector who have already lost their jobs (49 thousand jobs in catering and accommodation in the third quarter of this year) and for all those who run a serious and urgent risk of losing it. . 43% of companies in the catering sector in Portugal that have not yet closed admit to filing for bankruptcy at the end of this year. We are on the brink of death“,” shouts Ljubomir. Ljubomir Stanisic arrived in Portugal in 1997 from the former Yugoslavia. He lived through the war closely and difficult moments like the bankruptcy of the first restaurant but this is “a totally different war. “It is an endless war with no solutions in sight. It is a desperate war, with many victims already, many people starving, many people screaming for help without being heard. Not fighting for these people was something I could not live with.”, he assures.

Ljubomir is responsible for a team of almost 100 people and fears being forced to close its doors due to the contingencies of the pandemic and the installed crisis. “It has been very hard. As an entrepreneur and as a person. I am responsible for a team of 80 workers to whom I cannot tell what the future will be like. We try to stay optimistic, because it is part of my DNA and 100 ways not to give up, to fight until the last drop of blood, but there is a lot of fatigue and frustration“, the Mint.

The complete interview in this week’s edition of TV Guia, already on newsstands.