Monthly Talk

Bénédicte Quoniou. Head of the company canteen in Münchenstein.

Joined Müller AG Verpackungen in 2007.

 

 

A wide variety of menus from all over the world

 

At the end of the 1960s, production in Münchenstein was redesigned and adapted to the new requirements. After the major expansion phase, a company canteen, new checkrooms and shower facilities were also made available to the staff from 1971. In 2021, the company canteen celebrated its 50th anniversary. An interview with Bénédicte Quoniou, head of the staff canteen, who has been providing food and drink since 2008.

 

 

Bénédicte Quoniou, what a beautiful name! Bénédicte is a French given name and means "the blessed one". The web doesn't give much information about the surname Quoniou, except that the surname is found in the USA and in France. Would you like to tell us where your family is from?

Quoniou is my family name, which I took from my husband when I got married. The Quoniou family is actually from Brittany. However, my husband is from Burgundy and I am Alsatian.

 

At Müller AG Verpackungen, you run the company canteen. How long have you been doing this? How did you get the job?

I have been working in Switzerland since 1994. First in a large hotel, then also in other catering businesses. I like the mentality of the people here, that's why I like working in Switzerland very much. In 2007, I came across a job ad from Müller Packaging. They were looking for a temporary employee for their company canteen. When I started working here, I found out that the woman who was running the canteen at the time was retiring the following year. That's how I ended up getting a permanent position in 2008, and I've been a permanent employee at Müller ever since.

 

What are your main tasks in the company canteen?

I take the food orders and forward them to the SV canteen at Primeo Energie Münchenstein. We get our food from there, so we don't cook ourselves here. Later in the morning, I have to go and get the menus. I then prepare the salads for the buffet myself, so that the canteen can open at 11:30. After mealtime, it's time for cleaning and tidying up. I also have to make sure that there are always enough drinks in stock.

 

 

How many guests come to you on average every day?

From apprentices to foremen, from administrative staff to the CEO, around 30 employees come to the canteen every day. I appreciate the good atmosphere, I think it's nice when the guests talk animatedly to each other and that everyone gets enough to eat - and can round off their lunch with a fine coffee.

 

Speaking of a good atmosphere: Is there also music in the canteen?

Oh no, that would be too much. I make enough noise myself (laughs).

 

And one more question about the guests. 30 canteen visitors a day is not that much ...

That's true. We would have room for more. But the eating habits of the employees are different. The canteen is an offer from the Müller company. And it is important that all employees are welcome.

 

 

You said that the canteen gets its food from Primeo Energie's SV Canteen. How satisfied are you with the quality of the food?

The food is really good and also varied with menus from all over the world, spiced differently, so my guests can choose from a diverse range. There is a new daily menu every day, a veggie menu and a soup of the day. If there's nothing on offer, my guests can choose from 10 other menus that are available virtually every day.

 

Can you say which are the three most popular menus?

Well, menus with pork or chicken cutlets are doing very well! Pasta dishes - people love pasta - such as spaghetti bolognese or lasagna are also ordered a lot. And menus with curry sauces are also going down well with the Müller people.

 

Ms. Quoniou, thank you very much for this interview. It's made me hungry.