Griet

This is Griet, one of the chefs at our VIERNULVIER Café! She has been part of our team for 5 years.

Before working here, Griet ran her own vegetarian restaurant, 'De Zuidkant' in Gentbrugge. There she decided to quit after two fun but intense years. When Griet's neighbour forwarded her the vacancy for her current job at VIERNULVIER, she decided to apply.

"Cooking is a passion of mine, but I didn't take a cooking course. I was allowed to participate in a trial day and started it with the thought: 'We'll see.' That trial day turned out unexpectedly well: there was a dynamic atmosphere in the kitchen and I noticed that a lot was possible. And that's still the case seven years later: although the kitchen is tightly organised, you get enough freedom as a chef. I find that important."

"I'm also happy with the friendly atmosphere in the kitchen team. My colleagues are very important to me because I am quite stress-sensitive and often feel a crushing responsibility. At six in the evening, all the food has to be there. If you need help at that time, there is always a colleague to help out. I also find them inspiring: Mike, for instance, is known for his creative combinations. That automatically makes you try out different things."

Griet describes herself as the representative of grandmother's cuisine, but in a vegetarian setting: from vegetarian casseroles and stews to moussaka. The kitchen works according to the LEF principle (local, ecological and fair trade), something Griet herself values highly.

"I love the fact that the quality of our products is so good. If we didn't use the LEF principle, I would feel much less of a connection with my job. My favourite dish to prepare? The dish of the day: it's a fun challenge to think up a new dish every day."

At home, Griet mostly cooks fast and basic.

"My cooking skills at home suffer a bit because of my work at VIERNULVIER (laughs)."

Finally, a nice extra about her job: the cultural offerings.

"As a VIERNULVIER employee, you get to go and see all the performances. It's great fun to cook for insanely good artists, and two hours later realise during their show: 'Wow, they were just standing at our buffet a moment ago!'"