Mirko Bošnjak, head of sanitation at Zagreb’s Student Centre, said that the staffers were completely dedicated to the Games, an event of great importance for the Student Centre, the University of Zagreb, the City of Zagreb, and the Republic of Croatia as a whole.
To make the European Universities Games Zagreb – Rijeka 2016 an extraordinary experience for all the participants, the staffers of Zagreb’s Student Dormitory ‘Stjepan Radić’ are hard at work during the final two weeks of the competition. There is a great deal of pressure on their shoulders, but the organizers working in the biggest dorm in Zagreb are fearlessly facing all the challenges in their way.
Mirko Bošnjak, director of sanitation at Zagreb’s Student Centre, talked to us about the general impressions among the staffers.
‘The Student Centre is responsible for all the sanitary issues pertaining to the accommodation and food in the Student Dormitory ‘Stjepan Radić’. The staffers are completely dedicated to the Games, an event of great importance for the Student Centre, the University of Zagreb, the City of Zagreb, and the Republic of Croatia as a whole.’
The section of the dorm which operates virtually all day is food service. Jasna Tomašić has been the head of food service for the last fourteen years. Happy for her son’s recent graduation, Tomašić sat with us to share some statistics and impressions to illustrate the amount of food it takes to satisfy the needs of all the guests.
The working day is divided into three shifts, each covered by eight cooks, who prepare an astounding 10,000 portions daily. This figure includes up to 500 loaves of bread, a few hundred kilos of fruit, and over a ton of meat. The kitchen stays open till late evening to make sure no one goes to bed hungry.
After a light meal, which includes pasta and big portions of fruit and vegetables, the guests also like to enjoy a sweet treat.
‘Regardless of their energy or nutritional demands, the student athletes want to experience Croatian desserts. On a daily basis, they probably go through few thousand portions of cake, ’Tomašić said, adding that the feedback has been very positive so far.
‘The participants are very satisfied, they always make time to thank the serving ladies for the food, and before travelling back home, they always come to say goodbye to our staffers, who were like their substitute family during the Games,’ said the head of food service at the Student Dormitory ‘Stjepan Radić’, adding that the athletes often leave their signed jerseys as a way of thanking the staffers for their hard work.
