Vicko Majic's interview

Who are you and what is your role in the company?
My name is Vicko Majic and I am the owner and chef at restaurant “Đir” located in Split, Croatia.

Who are your customers?
Our customers are mainly local people. Since we are not in the centre of town, we do not have a lot of travellers, just ones who are in area near restaurant or groups that are arranged with travel agencies.

Tell us how works the typical day at the restaurant of your customers.
Through the week customers are generally businesspeople for lunch and through the weekend and dinners they are generally couples and families. Restaurant has 130 seats, so we are also organizing weddings and other special occasions.
Our typical day starts around 13:00 when businesspeople have breaks or business lunches and dinner usually start around 19:00.

What do you think about Lainox?
Lainox system really surprised me and my staff. Until we bought Lainox, we had a typical convection, but Lainox we call smart convection. It is simple even for older staff. With Lainox we increased efficiency and the ratio of the work that can be performed with it is much higher and faster than in other convections. The process itself is much simpler and much more organized, and it the end we serve dishes with better quality, that are cooked faster than usual what is the main goal when you have larger groups of customers. The only thing that is lower with this convection is energy bill and amount of stress in kitchen.

What are the benefits that you saw first-hand since you started using Lainox oven?
The benefits that I saw first-hand since I started to use Lainox is simplicity, efficiency, better organization, quality of food, not to mention service centre that is extraordinary and cloud that makes me speechless. For me, Lainox is not just convection, it is more like a crew member.

Why did you choose this oven instead of another one?
I choose Lainox because when I compare it with other ovens, the other ones became just ovens and Lainox is new standard. It cannot be even compared.

What future do you expect for your business?
Since we have more business every year and we are recognized as a quality restaurant especially for special occasions and business events, we expect more groups, so the Lainox is becoming one of the most important machine in our kitchen.

How much is technology affecting the restaurant industry today?
I think that technology is very important in the restaurant industry, and every day it is becoming more and more important. The restaurant industry is increasing every year and demand for workers is much higher than supply, so technology is helping to overcome the issues. Today there are a lot of restaurants and if you want to be different and better than others, you must think about every single detail and technology is helping to manage everything especially when you have to make a balance between workers, suppliers, efficiency, quality of food, laws and regulations, etc.

Is innovation necessary to get concrete results in the food service for you?
To be innovative in this business is one of the most important thing you must do every single day in order to succeed in achieving something for the future especially nowadays when you have to survive despite difficult circumstances. Every new idea requires new method or some different method to gain different product, and every innovation is a guideline to new idea.