Romanian Inspirations: Nicolae Ungureanu

Today I would like to introduce you my biggest inspiration and very special person in my life. His name is Nicolae Ungureanu. Nicolae (born 1990, Slobozia) is a chef that came from Romania which is beautiful country in the South-Eastern part of Europe. He spent his youth living in a small village near the capital Bucharest. 

             Nicolae during his visit in Beskid Polish Mountains, 2019

He grew up among the wonderful nature and from an early age took care of animals. From a very young age he showed interest in the kitchen. His passion for cooking started at home, where he had an access to freshly grown and fragrant vegetables and fruits that were ripened in the Romanian sun. 

Flag of Romania

He started his culinary journey in 2010 - working in McDonalds in Bucharest city where he achieved two times distinction of  'Employee of the Month'. While working there Nicolae kept in mind the fact that he wants to develop and move forward. As he says: "working in McDonald's was a fantastic training, where I could enjoy work as a part of the team and learn needed skills" (Ungureanu, 2022). 

The next step in his career was work in the Romanian restaurant "La Placinte", where he had opportunity to learn Romanian, traditional cuisine from the scratch. With his passion and hard-work he quickly gained recognition and became a chef of the restaurant. 

The next step in his professional life was work in a three-star hotel 'Capital Plaza' where he learned the best of European cuisine and work under the supervision of experienced chefs. As he says: "I began to learn advanced cooking techniques in the hotel and this is what we call: "fine - dining", the best possible quality of food and service" (Ungureanu, 2022). 

                                    Hotel Intercontinental, Bucharest, Romania

He continues his work in fine-dining, starting work in "Hotel Intercontinental" prestigious, five-star hotel in the heart of the capital of Romania - Bucharest. Nicolae says:" It was wonderful experience, I learned everything what I have never dreamed of" (Ungureanu, 2022).    

                                   Nicolae Ungureanu (second from the left), Bucharest, Romania

In 2018 we both moved to the UK, until 2019 nothing know about each other. Finally, we met at work. From this moment there was no end to the joy of cooking together. We spend a lot of the quality time and I can surely say our cooking resulted in love and family. 

                                                           Backed mackerel with fresh salad

For both of us cooking for somebody is giving a piece of heart and act of caring for each other. Following Sager (2020): "my meals were a labor of love and were the way I showed Jeremy I cared about him". This is how another woman describes her relationship to her husband by cooking meals for him and she talks about the languages of love and cooking is the one of it. Also during our trip to Romanians Transfagarasan Mountains I could taste a freshly picked tomato straight from the bush which smelled and tasted amazing, white traditional cheese straight from the cow, and watermelon which grows naturally in Romania, which had spent the night in the river, these memories will stay with me for years. 

                                                        The Transfagarasan Highway, Romania

Now when I'm studying Media and begin the work in self-publishing, to my mind came up an idea that I could also promote himself in culinary world as maybe he would never have had the opportunity to show himself to the audience if he had not met me. We could combine each other and show people the joy of cooking together. 

References

Sheknows.com. 2022. Food Is My Love Language – SheKnows. [online] Available at: <https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2148218/food-love-language/> [Accessed 30 April 2022].

Bibliography:

The Walnut Room Green Bay. 2022. Fine Dining vs. Casual Dining - The Walnut Room Green Bay. [online] Available at: <https://thewalnutroomgb.com/blog/fine-dining-vs-casual-dining/> [Accessed 30 April 2022].

Sheknows.com. 2022. What Are the 5 Different Love Languages? – SheKnows. [online] Available at: <https://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1059295/what-are-the-5-love-languages/> [Accessed 30 April 2022].