Kårkaféerna - Student resturants in Turku, but also so much more

This is Katja - she has worked as the head chef at Kårkafé Aurum since the beginning of November. We interviewed Katja regarding Kårkaféerna’s operations and what it is like to work at Kårkaféerna.

Katja’s job assignments include making sure everything runs smoothly in the kitchen and helping out where needed, of course participating in the cooking but also receiving deliveries or helping out with the dishes when needed. Together with the team she also develops the lunch selection at Kårkafé Aurum, including the Bistro’s menu, the Aurum bowl buffet as well as lunch and catering. Her favorite task is cooking, more precisely cutting vegetables. 

“Working at Kårkafé Aurum is very versatile and my colleagues are fantastic. The hours are varied, which I like, and although most of my colleagues speak Swedish and I speak Finnish, I get along with everyone very well. I’ve had a good feeling here since day one - it’s always fun to come to work.”

Sustainability and reducing waste is very important to us at Kårkaféerna. We carefully track how much food is consumed per day, and order more accordingly. If there is food left over, we try to use it somehow. Today, for example, fried paprika rice was made from yesterday’s rice. At Kårkafé Aurum we only use reusable microfiber cloths with water and soap to clean surfaces instead of using big amounts of paper towels. At Kårkaféerna we charge for take-away boxes and coffee cups, therefore we encourage everyone to bring their own containers if they want to pick up take-away food, in order to reduce the amount of waste. 

“Kårkafé Aurum is not a typical student restaurant, if you didn’t know that you are in the university’s premises when coming here, you probably wouldn’t even notice that Kårkafé Aurum is a student restaurant. You can for example get specialty coffee, there is a bistro with an á la carte menu, the lunch lines look very nice and the food looks and tastes good.”

Special diets are taken very well into consideration at Kårkaféerna according to Katja. On the menus that can be found on our social media, screens in the restaurants and on our website, it is always clearly marked which dishes contain what. There is also a separate vegetarian lunch line at Kårkafé Aurum where there are vegetarian and vegan options. At the Aurum bowl buffet you can also build exactly such a salad bowl that fits your diet. 

“My favorite dish at Kårkaféerna so far is when our chef made a sauce with pork. All my colleagues know that I’m a bit picky, so when I say something is good, you know that it actually is very good food. Our chef is extremely talented and creative.”

Kårkaféerna also does more than just student lunches, we for example have a catering service - Kårkaféerna Catering, which offers food and spaces for all kinds of events, both large and small. Katja has already been involved in several assignments and finds it very fun, she hopes for several events and functions in the future.