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Interview
“We make it easy to enjoy a healthy diet”

Anna Dera began working as an intern in “WAGO Health Management” in 2014 and completed her business management studies in parallel to her work as a student trainee.
Today, she is the “keeper” of the WAGO company restaurant and point of contact with the “Enjoyment & Harmony” caterer. In this interview, she explains where the topic of “health management” comes into play and what the best moments in her work are for her.

In the typical cafeteria in a large industrial company, healthy eating is not the first thing that comes to mind. What’s different at WAGO?

There's a fitting saying that goes: You are what you eat. In 2016, we opened our new company restaurant in Minden and deliberately changed the caterer. When planning this large-scale project, four aspects involving meals were particularly important to us: they should be fresh, sustainable, regional and healthy. 120 kg of fresh fruits and vegetables alone are processed for this each and every day. By offering the right variety of foods, we make it easy for our colleagues to eat healthy and stay fit and alert over the entire day. And this doesn’t just apply to meetings – instead of pastries, we now have grains, nuts, dried fruits and smoothies on the table.

This sounds healthy, but does it really go over well with everyone?

Almost everything! Today, around 550 meals are served in the company restaurant every day. It's always important to involve the workforce, which is why we also initiated a large-scale survey before the new restaurant was built, to find out the needs and desires of everyone involved. Good quality and foregoing of convenience were at the top of the list. We create offers and raise awareness without patronizing anyone – and the concept works.

Are pizza and fries banned from the menu?

Of course not. We still have the “classics” in our program. And we even have our own pastry chef who conjures up the best treats. It's not about doing away with sweets or curry sausages, but rather about creating a wide range of high-quality foods and raising awareness of one’s own eating habits. A homemade piece of cake tastes much better than the usual chocolate bar that you get everywhere. This helps you enjoy your meals more.

What healthy items are on your menu?

Well, for example, we have our Vital Counter. This is where we offer dishes with a calorie limit of 650 kcal. In addition, we offer low-carb dishes, a salad bar - at which we even make the dressings and toppings ourselves fresh and much more for healthy nutrition. For breakfast, you can choose from smoothies, cereals and fresh yogurt - besides classic bread rolls, all in all a balanced selection.

Nutrition is also subject to many trends and personal preferences. How do you react to this?

We want to be as flexible and individualized as possible – just like our employees – so every day there is at least one vegetarian and frequently a vegan dish and add-ons, in which meat and cheese are optional. Our chefs are all informed about all our offerings and can always answer questions about allergens and intolerances. We take a very regular look at what dishes are going well. The vegetarian selection works great – something we didn’t expect. However, we are always testing new things such as bowls or a sushi week, so far with great success.

With so much delight at work, don't you worry about the family at home missing out?

Well, not at all really, because we had a focus on the family from the very beginning, as the new concept was also about making a contribution to work-life balance. That’s why we were looking for a partner with whom we could hold joint events and campaigns, such as themed weeks – and this partner is Genuss & Harmony. So, not only can dinner be taken home for the family, with our “Family & Friends Dinner,” there are also times when everyone eats together at WAGO. No one gets left out.

That sounds a bit crazy: Go to the company cafeteria for an evening meal? How is this received?

Company restaurant, right! We place a great deal of value on this term. The “Family & Friends Dinner” is a regular highlight. We get some 300 guests for this at the restaurant, from grandmothers to infants. Our pastry chef comes into play again for the even more offerings for the younger generation: The highlight of the year is our Christmas baking, with employees' children. We also use our company restaurant for team building activities. Our employees, the “WAGO family,” can take a look behind the scenes in cooking classes, conjure up entire menus and learn about healthy nutrition. “Colorful is Powerful,” for example, refers to one of these offerings. And I was able to tell then that homemade chocolate pudding with chia seeds also tastes pretty good.”

Speaking of tasting good, what's your favorite dish? And do you also have a favorite project?

The Ceasar salad is my favorite – it’s very classic, but also an exciting variation. And there is such great feedback when it comes to children's baking, such that I'm really looking forward to it this year. Last year, the kindergarten we invited to take part even sang a song as a thank you. And what better praise is there when a little girl looks out the window at the falling snowflakes and joyfully exclaims “Christmas is here.”

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