Tasty food can brighten up even the rainiest of days. Only happy workers can be expected to fully concentrate on the job and perform to the max. This is a behind-the-scenes look into how exactly the tasty food is born at the new canteen which opened at the VENTS facility about 3 weeks ago.

We would like to thank all the people whose invaluable input and support helped make it all happen: Valeriy Kolomiychenko, the VENTS director; Valentin Goloviychuk and Sergey Melkevich of the repair and construction department; Vyacheslav Pustovit and Sergey Koshevoy – for prompt wiring layout and electrical connections; the coding department led by Sergey Tverdokhleb; the logistical support department managed by Valeriy Terletskiy; and finally Vladislav Solokha’s system administration team and everyone else who deserves a big thank you for bringing the project to fruition with their skill, patience and professionalism!

A well-fed worker is the best worker

The fact that the company can’t do without a second canteen became obvious as long as a few years ago. The VENTS factory currently employs about 2,500 workers and the number is constantly growing. The existing canteen just was not able to meet the changing requirements and feed the entire workforce. The new facility was designed to run like a Swiss clock.

The light and cosy dining area is several times larger than the crammed old one and accommodates about 90 people; the kitchen and service staff has also grown substantially. All these changes help provide enough comfortable seating for the hungry ones without waiting for a free table – even at peak times. When the canteen receives the entire equipment package as per the design project, its lunch serving capacity is expected to reach up to 300 persons.

Walk a few steps to the buffet area and get ready for a refreshing espresso, a tender cappuccino or scones and curd tarts made in-house for ultimate freshness and taste. The buffet inventory also has a wide selection of beverages, chocolate, waffles and ice-cream. Once you are here, do indulge yourself in our delicious pizzas imbued with the inimitable taste of Italy. Each of the “Cheese”, “Salami” and “Ham” varieties come on a crispy thin layer of dough – just allow 30 minutes for the chefs to bake. At the moment the dishes on offer are quite similar to canteen No. 1, but the menu is soon to get a significant extension.

The canteen equipment is also due to get a host of upgrades. Interestingly, a lot of the units were manufactured in-house by the skilled hands of VENTS engineers. For example, the stainless steel dressers and shelves as well as the pizza station – a special pizza rolling table – were made by Eugene Karpenko’s team from the metal-processing shop.

Haute cuisine

Andrey Tkachenko, the canteen manager, has a lot of experience under his belt and everything it takes to build and run a team of like-minded and highly motivated professionals. His believes that work is a man’s true touchstone and likes to throw real-life tests at candidates instead of holding a formal interview – now how about making borsch for a hundred people and keeping it tasty? When it comes to food quality and timely deliveries the canteen manager teams up with Sergey Voytenko, a chef, to make sure everything is perfect. It should be noted that the new canteen relies on eco-friendly meat (pork and beef) and dairy products purchased from local farmers who do not use harmful chemicals.

Although the canteen has been running for less than a month, the management has already made far-reaching plans. At the moment the VIP dining area is being completed to enable conferences with partners over meals and provide catering services to the exhibition guests.

To get first-hand answers the special features of the new canteen, the organic food products and professional passion we met with Sergey Voytenko – a talented chef working on the canteen team. Sergey’s career started as a sous chef later promoted to a chef at well-known restaurants “Gogol” and “Dikanka” in Poltava.

His motto is simple: “Passion is the mother of all trades”.

You’ve already made a reputation for being extra-picky while choosing food suppliers. What are the main selection criteria?

At present lots of people are very serious about keeping their lifestyle as healthy as possible while dishes made of healthier organic products are getting a bigger share of café and restaurant menus. Unfortunately, the products from Ukrainian suppliers may not be considered organic food from the European standpoint due to the lack of national legislation which regulates organic production. Still, we are indeed making a lot of effort to select the best eco-friendly and biological products such as meat, yogurt and meat from farms and well-proven companies which do not use genetically modified organisms, chemicals and growth-promoting substances instead doing things the natural way. This gives our meals a distinct home-made flavour and makes them a lot healthier.

What makes the new canteen cuisine so special?

All the dishes including pastry are made in-house without using convenience foods. At the moment those include such all-time favourites as cutlet in dough, curd tarts and scones with strawberry and apricot jam as well as several varieties of pizza. We have already replaced off-the-shelf mayonnaise with natural yoghurt and salad dressing based on oil and lemon. The next step will be to introduce dressings based on balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and our tasty home-made mayonnaise.

What kind of cool new additions should we expect?

The menu will constantly change and have a lot of seasonal surprises. We are gradually moving away from the canteen format towards a restaurant concept to specialise in healthy tasty and natural food. In particular, we are going to offer a variety of home-made yoghurt, some classical Italian desserts such as pannacotta as well as tiramisu and fresh juices. Ideally we would like to differentiate our menu by splitting it into the vegetarian (with a emphasis on vegetables and fish for vegans or those who fast), fitness (less calories and better balance) and classic (tasty and rich) subsections.

What is your favourite or speciality dish?

It is so difficult to choose one. I am very much fond of fishing, but fish and meat have an equal share on my wood-fired grill. I also like to improvise and cook from what I’ve got at hand. It just takes a little of inspiration and, of course, some high-quality and fresh food.

How did you get into professional cooking?

My grandfather spent all his life working at a collective farm, and his cooking was sensational. My dad was equally good at it. I’ve always been fascinating by the cooking process, and I somehow managed to turn my hobby into what I do for a living.

What pleases you most in your work?

It is extremely satisfying to put passion into everything you do and then realize that you have just made someone happy.

Dear colleagues, feel free to give the new canteen a try while we keep you up to date about all the exciting new arrivals to hit the counters. Also bear in mind that the canteen management values your feedback and will carefully consider all your wishes and any family recipes you might want share which may one day appear on the menu.