1) Dear Marina, how did you become what you are now? What were your most important

career stages?

Originally, I wanted to take up a completely different profession. During my studies at university I worked in restaurants to supplement my pocket money. Since

I am a very communicative person by nature, I found I liked working in the hospitality industry more and more. However, I did not want to start without any training. That’s how I found the tourism college in Bad Gleichenberg.

In general, if you are attentive and inquisitive, you can pick up a lot of know-how at each stage of your career. Two of my previous experiences I would therefore like to highlight!

Firstly, the restaurant OHO! in Graz, which is run by Anita Kurz and Anna Winter. Anita is the restaurant manager and Anna is responsible for the kitchen.

responsible. It was the two of them who took me on wine tastings, who gave me the confidence to wield a knife in the kitchen for the first time and took the time to teach me about the

the finer points of service. Secondly, my internship in Paris during my apprenticeship in Bad Gleichenberg.

At this point I would like to thank Mr. Josef Sorger again, as it was him who put me in touch with him and gave me the opportunity to work at the Mandarin Oriental Paris in the Sur Mesure par Thierry Marx. This

opportunity to work in the kitchen of a 2** decorated restaurant has been incredible. The learning factor was enormous. On top of that, I had the opportunity to look behind the scenes of a luxury hotel.

 

2) What are your three most important to-dos?

 

At the moment I am trying to become proficient in Danish. It turns out to be more difficult than I thought 😉

 

 

3) What do you love most about your work?

 

Often you entertain guests who visit a restaurant to celebrate an entrée. When they leave the restaurant completely satisfied and grateful because you helped to make their special day unforgettable, that’s a great

a great feeling! To be able to taste wines and savour dishes. At Noma the entire FOH team is served the full menu before each season. An absolute highlight for each individual. Also, the versatility of the profession. At

basically, no two days are the same.

 

4) You work in one of the best restaurants in the world, and many of our pupils and students first ask themselves how difficult it is to “get in there”, what do you have to be able to do, what does the application process look like? So, dear Marina, what was it like exactly? And what kind of skills did you have to bring with you, besides the TSBG degree?

 

The application process is a two-step process. After I sent in my application, I was invited to an interview shortly afterwards, which took place via Zoom.

interview, which took place via Zoom, and after that I was offered a week at the Noma. Here they look at how well you fit into the team, how you deal with

team, how you handle stress, how you handle certain situations, your work attitude and much more. My composure probably came in handy here.

came in handy. I thought that even if I wasn’t offered a job, I had the chance to spend a week in one of the best restaurants in the world…

I read up on the restaurant in advance and on the art of fermentation and watched the documentary about about Noma.

I would always have good work shoes, a bottle opener and a notebook in my luggage 🙂

 

5) A top restaurant like this must of course be outstanding in all categories, not only in terms of the high art of cooking. Can you give us a few other examples of TOP performance and how this is lived out at Noma, whether in terms of dealing with guests, expertise, etc.?  

In my opinion, it is the details that are paid attention to. Since there are many competitors in the in the upscale gastronomy sector, this is almost unavoidable. At Noma

we manage to raise the ‘guest experience’ to another level with meticulous. This requires the utmost concentration and attention from every single

attention. In addition, the working atmosphere between colleagues and here I mean the entire FOH team and the entire kitchen brigade has to be balanced. This almost blind understanding among each other means that we as a team can do an even better job for the guests.

Weekly there is a session in the areas of wine, tea, café or we visit one of our suppliers (ceramics, foodstuffs, wine glasses) We pay close attention to continuous

further education. The natural wine scene in Copenhagen has already reached a considerable size. This is why you will find exquisite wines on the wine list. One of the privileges of a top restaurant is that

vintners occasionally produce wines exclusively for the restaurant.

The fermentation laboratory, from which the products come, is certainly unique.

 

6) Your career path since graduation is already remarkable, but would you tell us where you would like your life’s journey to take you? What are your next goals and dreams?

 

My next destination is definitely Japan. That was my original plan before I landed at Noma. But the pandemic threw a spanner in the works.

Also on the Gourmet Bucket List is South America, especially Peru. I would like to be a guest at Pía León’s restaurant. Since there are still very few female chefs at this high level

I am fascinated by her career and would like to taste her creations.

 

7) Before we conclude, we are of course curious about what was by far the most extraordinary experience at Noma so far?

 

The evening when Noma was named the best restaurant in the world. A team flew to Antwerp and we had a normal evening service in Copenhagen. There were Ipads everywhere to follow the action on the sidelines and when the top places were announced and and there was already something like a premonition of victory, the pace was gradually taken was gradually taken out of the service. And then the announcement: 1st place -NOMA. All colleagues came running from the dining rooms to the service kitchen, the heart of our restaurant, and celebrated exuberantly. Complete service stop!!! Our sommeliers poured a glass of champagne for everyone and we toasted to it. An unforgettable moment!!!

 

8) As we all know, the best way to learn is from the mistakes and successes of others.

Do you have an example of your personal career do’s and don’ts for our TSBG – Family?

 

I was not paid for the internship in Paris. That makes you think about whether a paid job would be more advantageous. In retrospect, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I learned  a lot and met interesting people. Sometimes you should take a chance. It is also important to me to have two days off in a row. The relaxation factor is factor is simply much higher. At Noma, we are constantly trying to improve working hours

to give employees more time to spend with their families and friends. In in an industry where people work nights, weekends and sometimes even public holidays, this is a move that is very much welcomed by all.