We all have different role models and maybe more than one depending on which category they are active in. I have been working in the restaurant world for a long time both full time and extra combined with school. It is a profession that I both love and hate, but always will be close to my heart, it is a way of living. One of my role models in this line of work is Anna Lallerstedt, who recently took over after her father Erik Lallerstedt.
The reason why I admire her is not only because she is running three restaurants, Eriks Bakficka, Gondolen and Eriks vinbar, with an attitude that is both driven, humble and good against the employees, but she also tries to improve the whole profession. The restaurant world has a bad reputation, and a lot of people think that it is just something you do for extra income or that you are not good enough to do something else. I have experienced this first hand. Often guests asks what I do other than work in a restaurant, if I reply; this is what I do, the response from the guest often is; “oh!” with a negative vibe, and they stare down in the table. But if I say; “I am studying”, they get impressed right away and becomes really chatty.
What Anna is trying to do is show that you can work in the restaurant business and still have a family, improve and advance in the business even though you do not work “ordinary hours”. She is the first employer that has implemented a kind of certificate, “gesäll brev”, that shows your skills and knowledge, so you actually can prove that you know what you say you know. I believe this is the first step in giving the business a better reputation. Anna is not only a entrepreneur in the aspect of running three restaurants, but also in the aspect of the progress the whole business taking a positive direction. And I have not even mentioned that she is a woman in a man dominated trade, she dedicates money to charity and is nominated to “Restauranteur of the year 2016”.
So, who is your role model?