How did you come to EnBW?
Patrick: I have been part of the EnBW family since September 1, 2000. My father, who was employed by Erdgas Südwest at the time, told me about a vacancy in the EnBW company restaurant in Karlsruhe. After a one-week internship, I was accepted for a three-year apprenticeship shortly afterwards – the starting point for my professional career. Today, I am the deputy head chef of the company restaurants and event services in Karlsruhe and our two branch offices.
What does a typical working day look like for you? What are your main tasks?
Patrick: My day in the company restaurant starts early. Shortly after 6:00 a.m., I start by preparing my workplace. This is followed by the mise en place (preparation) of the dishes to be produced for the day in the special events area. In between, I focus my attention on the kiosk, where I am responsible for the production of to-go meals, Bircher muesli, and to-go sauces. Shortly before service, I make my rounds and taste the sauces and dishes for the lunch service once again. Discussing the presentation of the dishes with our other chefs is also one of my tasks. After work or during my lunch break, I submit menu suggestions for future events or order the necessary goods from our suppliers. As a safety officer, I also conduct initial training and annual safety briefings for employees. Maintenance and communication with suppliers are also part of my responsibilities.
What fascinates you about working in company restaurants compared to other areas of the catering industry?
Patrick: Definitely the wide range of dishes to prepare. I also enjoy having weekends and public holidays off. I also appreciate having clearly defined working hours. And, of course, the many additional benefits that EnBW offers, such as a company pension plan, job bike, leasing of electronic devices, etc.
What do you enjoy most about your job? What do you think makes your work at EnBW special?
Patrick: What I enjoy most is this fantastic team! Standing at the stove with my colleagues every day fills me with pride. When you get up in the morning with a smile on your face, work is easy. I thoroughly enjoy my job. But when asked about my favorite dishes, it's definitely the desserts (patisserie).
What skills or qualifications are particularly important in your field?
Patrick: It's important to be a team player! You should also have skills such as creativity, resilience, flexibility, and an above-average passion for food. Enjoying cooking and experimenting round off your profile. Finally, it's worth mentioning that a great talent for improvisation can sometimes save your bacon.
What particular challenges does working in a company restaurant entail? And how do you deal with them?
Patrick: Since we occupy a sandwich position in the value chain, we are also dependent on our suppliers. It can happen that deliveries are incorrect, and we then have to improvise and change a dish. But there are also different catering options – from the company restaurant with a wide variety of meals to takeaway dishes, home office boxes, special events, and fine dining. Each area is unique and comes with its own challenges. Decades of experience and a healthy balance of sports and family life allow me to take on the daily challenges of my professional life.
How do you organize the distribution of tasks within the team during service? Are there fixed roles or do you change them regularly?
Patrick: In order to be as well prepared as possible for difficult situations, we often use the “job rotation” model. This allows our employees to be deployed flexibly. Whether at the kiosk/cash register, food service, in the individual departments within the kitchen (dessert station, salad kitchen, side dishes...), or even as a substitute at one of our branch locations. This also prevents the team from becoming complacent. It allows us to make better use of our employees' knowledge and additionally promotes motivation.
What are your long-term goals for your work in the company restaurants?
Patrick: In the short to medium term, I want to use my knowledge and skills to continuously advance my area of responsibility. This could involve implementing new products or preparing and introducing new dishes. To stay up to date, it is also important to keep an eye on technical innovations, investments, and optimizations in existing processes.
How important is sustainability in your company restaurant? Do you use regional or seasonal ingredients?
Patrick: Sustainability is a very, very important issue for us in the EnBW company restaurants! As we are certified with the “Three Lions Seal,” dishes marked with the lion on the menu are prepared exclusively with products from Baden-Württemberg. In addition, we use meat and fish from species-appropriate animal husbandry. We also source most of our fruit and vegetables from regional producers.
How much creative freedom do you have when designing the menu?
Patrick: There are no limits to creativity in the early stages. In principle, any dish can be proposed to the EnBW Culinary Committee (a panel of kitchen managers from various locations within the group). A democratic decision is made on the feasibility and implementation of the dish and whether it can be included in the menu. This is a little easier when it comes to special events. Here, each location can decide on the menus for itself.
How do you deal with allergies or dietary preferences such as vegan or vegetarian?
Patrick: I don't take allergies lightly. They can quickly become life-threatening. That's why I'm always aware of my extraordinary responsibility when putting together and preparing menus. Vegetarian and vegan diets are no longer just trends, but have become firmly established in our society. The rising numbers in the statistics prove this. For this reason, it is important to me to always be up to date and to constantly develop my skills (vegetarian/vegan cooking courses, catering trade fairs, specialist literature, exchanges with colleagues, the internet).
Is there a dish that is particularly popular?
Patrick: As in all company restaurants in Germany, you can't go past SchniPoSa (schnitzel, fries, and salad), currywurst with fries, classic (cheese) burgers, or lentils with spaetzle and sausages.
Describe your work in three words.
Patrick: Challenging, creative, exciting.
Neugierig geworden? Einen Einblick hinter die Kulissen von Patricks Arbeitsalltag und den vielfältigen Aufgaben, die im Betriebsrestaurant sonst noch so anfallen, findest du in unserem aktuellen YouTube-Video. Und wenn du Interesse hast, Teil des Teams im Betriebsrestaurant zu werden, findest du alle offenen Stellen hier.