Introducing Olimpiya – Vince’s Market Salad Bar & Prepared Foods Expert
My name is Olimpiya and I am the Salad Bar and Prepared Food Supervisor at Vince’s Sharon. I am very excited to be writing this week’s blog for Vince’s and to tell you a little bit about myself and the exciting things that are happening in the Vince’s Market Salad Bar and Prepared Food departments. For those of you who do not know me, let me first begin by telling you a little bit about myself.
I was born and raised in the Ukraine. From a young age I was always interested in food. At 17 I began my education as a Food Preparation Technologist. I like the title. My education lasted for 3 years and thereafter I continued to take courses in culinary skills and baking.
My real education started when I began work at a military factory in the Ukraine where we prepared and served meals to over 1000 workers daily. My tasks would vary from making homemade soups to pastas and fresh bread. In this environment I learned such a wide range of skills and how to work quickly and efficiently. Above all, the most important thing was that the meals had to taste good.
After three years there, I moved to Lviv, Ukraine and began working in a restaurant and bakery. We had our regular customers, but we would also cater meetings, weddings, parties, and specialty events.
My introduction to Canada came in 1998 when we planned a visit to Toronto to visit family who had immigrated here. After visiting, I knew that I wanted to stay, live and provide for my family here. I saw great opportunity here, more so than back home. Later that year I officially came to Canada to begin the new chapter of my life.
In the summers, I would work at Joe’s Garden Centre in Bradford, working in the greenhouse and on the floor. In the winter, I worked at the Foodland in Bradford in any department that needed the help. At that time I was learning all about Canadian culture and lifestyle, with a very basic handle on the English language. It was challenging but I was always willing to work hard.
After a few years, I was looking for something more engaging and fulfilling. It’s funny, but my dream was to work at Tim Hortons. I was always so impressed by the cleanliness and presentation of the environment. It was something new to me, something fresh and something unlike anything I had ever seen back home. I never did apply, always a bit intimidated by the language barrier.
Joe Caieta, a former employee of Vince’s Market, introduced me to Vince’s Market in 2000. They needed someone to work in the salad bar and bakery that had a wide range of experience, knowledge and ability. My previous experience served me well in the high paced but very quality focused store. Vince’s provided a very multicultural environment where I felt comfortable with the staff and management. I was treated with respect and as a valued part of the team. I was able to work my way up the ranks and take on a Supervisory role many years ago. I am very proud of where I have come from and my contribution to Vince’s.
As a salad bar and prepared foods specialist, I really focus on preparation and process. I need to find ways to work quickly, but always making sure that the products we produce taste great and present beautifully. Every day to me is like a fresh start. The morning is my favourite part of the day when we begin to cut the fresh fruits and vegetables to setup our salad bar and begin preparing the salad bowls and trays. The smell of cutting fruits and vegetables is like the smell of Tim Hortons to many people. I find it refreshing and it marks the start of every day. I cannot imagine what my life would be like today if I did start working at Tim Horton’s, but working at Vince’s has been more than I ever expected.
My responsibility is to ensure quality and freshness is practiced daily; to make sure that the customers see the beauty and care taken in preparing quality items that are visually appealing and taste just as good!
In a prior Vince’s advertisement, they called me the “Platter Expert”. I had many customers calling asking for this so called “Platter Expert”. I had a good laugh over this. I am not sure if I am an Expert, but I can tell you that I treat each platter order with the utmost importance and will do my very best to produce the very best food for your family and friends to enjoy. I oversee and produce all of the custom platter and tray orders for all of the Vince’s locations. I would be happy to speak with you about any of your needs.
I am lucky to have access to the best fruits and vegetables available. Carmen always brings in the best products he can find, which ensures I have the right quality to work with.
As we move into the spring and summer, look out for some summer inspired salad bowls and trays. We will definitely start to incorporate all of the fresh fruit available into the salad bar offering. We know that you will be focusing on outdoor entertainment, and our ready-to-go veggie and dips platters are an easy, no mess way to entertain in style.
Thank you for reading and learning a little bit more about me. I will be writing again in the future and hope you will find it valuable!
In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you. Please don’t forget to leave a link back to your own blog too if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site.
Until next time,
Olimpiya
