Meet the Cheesegang – December 2016
by Marcello
Tomi arrived from Hungary about three years ago. The company he had been working for was a very well-known delicatessen in Budapest, so he already had a good food background and knowledge of cheese. When he was offered a job in London, he jumped at the chance, which is typical of the Tomi I have gotten to know—full of a sense of adventure.
All of a sudden he found himself in London with a new job and at the time, he didn’t speak much English. But the great thing was, he threw himself at the challenge of working for a new company and learning the language.
Because of the language barrier, we were mainly work colleagues at first—it was all about the job—but we soon became friends. Tomi is a very positive, outgoing person with a lot of energy.
Knowing Tomi, if we were going to have an after-work drink he would probably go to Utobeer and pick up a few bottles for us to share back here at the stall. If we do go to a pub it is normally The Globe Tavern, so it is good that it has opened again after the renovations.
Tomi is definitely more emotional than me: sometimes he’s on a real high and coming to work is like going to a party, and other times he is more relaxed. Either way you will always know what Tomi thinks about a situation, which is one of the things I like most about him. He is very direct in what he has to say and what he thinks, and that brings a real energy to the stall.
Tomi threw himself at the challenge of working for a new company and learning the language.
Marcello
The person you see is the person you get. He likes his fashion, so is always coming to the stall with a different look, but whether we are at the stall or in the pub, he is who he is.
If I was to pick a cheese for him it would definitely be one of the milder cheeses, which is quite ironic given he has such a bubbly, big personality, but he is not the biggest fan of the really intense cheeses that we sell.
I think the worst thing about working with Tomi is the flip-side of the best thing about working with him, in that you never quite know which Tomi is going to turn up for work.
He’s always professional, on time and does his job well, but on one day he is the life and soul of the party—lots of energy, very of bubbly, lots of jokes with the staff—and another day he’s more focused and more intent on work. This is fine because this light and shade makes him an interesting person: working with him is a constant surprise. One thing is sure with Tomi—things are not dull very often.