It all started with sports
However, Tomas did not immediately turn to the catering sector – at first, he aimed for sports heights. At the age of thirteen, Tomas Černiauskas began training at the “Žalgiris” cycling club. Soon, training was replaced by competitions, and noticing good results, the coach suggested the teenager go to study at a specialized sports boarding school in Panevėžys. Thus, already in the eighth grade, T. Černiauskas found himself far from home.
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“There were both victories and injuries, but when the time came and I finished school, I chose a different path, not sports,” he says.
Although he did not professionally link his life with cycling, the qualities developed there, according to him, later proved useful more than once. Life led T. Černiauskas through seemingly unrelated fields – service in the military intelligence unit, work in the police, law studies, and finally – business.
“I am grateful to sports for developing strong will, determination, and confidence. All these qualities are very useful in life,” says Tomas.
Circumstances led to the catering business
According to him, life turns are not always planned. Sometimes they are determined by circumstances, sometimes by the person’s own decisions or even mistakes. One such turn about two decades ago led T. Černiauskas to the catering business. The man says that at that time he already had real estate suitable for such activity, so together with his wife Janina Černiauskienė, they decided to try.
“My wife and I started two parallel businesses. Her company focused on banquet services, and mine on pizzeria operations. We are both tidy and enjoy cooking, so perhaps that gave its results. After all, food made with love is always tasty,” Tomas smiles.
Today, the family’s catering places operate in Naujoji Vilnia, Mickūnai, and Rudamina. Over twenty years, according to T. Černiauskas, he has come to know very different visitors. Younger people more often choose pizzas, kebabs, and other fast food dishes, older ones – grilled dishes, salads, and employees of nearby companies drop in for lunch.
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Tomas says that their catering places often host guests from abroad – Poles, Latvians, Estonians, Ukrainians on business trips, and they have even had delegations from Moldova. One of the most memorable cases was guests from Kazakhstan. Since he did not eat pork, the kitchen had to adapt and adjust the menu.
In the kitchen, as in sports, the team is important
However, feeding a large group of people, according to the speaker, is not enough just to know how to cook. Here T. Černiauskas sees certain similarities with sports – to achieve results, discipline, the ability to work together, and not to give in to chaos are needed.
“In cooking, the most important and difficult thing is to have a reliable, tidy, and friendly team – professionals who love food and people. Any disagreements, panic, and inability to work neatly and dynamically introduce chaos, and it is the biggest enemy of tasty food production,” Tomas says.
And although T. Černiauskas and his wife no longer work daily in restaurant kitchens, their love for food does not stay outside work doors. At home, they both gladly stand by the pots and even like to surprise each other.
“We make surprises for each other and delight with some novelty. We like to cook dishes from various cuisines – Chinese, Italian, Mexican, but most of all our traditional Lithuanian cuisine,” he says.
Well, Tomas himself singles out kugelis from Lithuanian cuisine dishes, which can also be found on the menu of “Draugų sala” restaurants. He shares his recipe with readers, inviting them to make it at home.
Kugelis recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 egg
- 200 ml milk
- 70 g butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pork cracklings (into the kugelis mixture)
Preparation:
- Peel the potatoes, peel the onion, and grate them using a potato grater
- Mix the egg into the grated potatoes, season with salt and pepper.
- Pour milk into a heated pot, add butter, and stir while heating until the butter melts and the milk and butter mixture starts to boil.
- Pour the hot milk mixture into the grated potatoes and mix.
- Add fried pork cracklings to the kugelis mixture
- Pour the kugelis mixture into a form greased with fat or oil.
- Bake the kugelis in an oven preheated to 180 °C for about 50-60 minutes.
Enjoy your meal!
