What do Jesper and Jesper have in common – apart from sharing the same first name?
They both celebrated their 20-year anniversary with Compass Group on 1 September. In recent years, they have also had the pleasure of working together at our client Lif – The Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry.
Jesper Holm has been sous chef in the kitchen for the past five years, while Jesper Olsen has been head chef for the past three years.
For Jesper Holm, his interest in cooking began when he was just four years old:
“Every Friday, I would sit next to the stove and watch my great-grandmother cook. From then on, I knew I wanted to become a chef.”
Jesper Olsen, on the other hand, grew up in a family of restaurateurs, so becoming a chef always seemed like the natural path for him.
Over the past three years of working in the same kitchen, their differences have become an important part of what makes their collaboration work so well.
“We complement each other really well in the kitchen because we have different ways of working. I tend to focus more on the bigger picture and the overall operation, while Jesper Holm pays more attention to the details,” says Jesper Olsen.
And that difference is an advantage in a busy kitchen. While Jesper Olsen keeps an overview of the daily operations, Jesper Holm focuses on the details. Together, their different strengths become a shared strength for the rest of the team – and ultimately for the guests who experience the result of their work.
Every day, they work alongside four colleagues in a kitchen serving between 100 and 400 people. Here, good teamwork is important not only for the two Jespers, but for the entire team and the experience they create for their guests.
Beyond sharing the same first name and celebrating their 20-year anniversaries with Compass Group on the same day, the two Jespers also share the same attitude towards their work:
“There should ideally be more good days than bad days, and we both feel that is the case. Work doesn’t feel like a chore because we have such a great team, and we do everything we can to make our guests happy,” says Jesper Olsen.
Congratulations on 20 years, Jesper and Jesper – and thank you for all your years with Compass Group!