[Cooks at Nursing Homes] Protecting the health of residents by paying attention to ingredients! (Mr. Jinma from Myanmar / Best Food Minami Kyushu Co., Ltd.)

[Staff Profile]

Zin Mar Thu (from Myanmar)

I love cooking so I got a job as a chef. On my days off, I enjoy inviting friends over to my house and chatting with my family back home over video calls. My dream for the future is to have my own restaurant!

【Company】

Best Food Minamikyushu Co., Ltd.

Headquartered in Chikujo-gun, Fukuoka Prefecture, the company provides catering services at facilities such as the paid nursing homes "Care Life Kamishiromizu" and "Care Life Nogata." It is a company that specializes in providing meals to the elderly.

This time, we visited Care Life Nogata, where Best Food Minami Kyushu Co., Ltd. prepares school lunches , and spoke with Zimmer, who works in the facility's kitchen!

Care Life Nogata. A very beautiful facility opening in September 2023.

──Please tell us about your hometown.

I'm from Monywa, Myanmar . Monywa is a historic town in central Myanmar, rich in nature. It is particularly famous for Laykyun Setkyar, one of the largest Buddha statues in the world. The town produces a lot of sugarcane and beans, and is also known as a tourist destination. There are also limestone caves and Buddhist ruins nearby.

──Why did you want to work in Japan?

After graduating from school in Myanmar, I was thinking about what I wanted to do in the future. At that time, an older sister of an acquaintance recommended that I live in Japan, saying that it was an attractive option. She herself lives in Tokyo, and after hearing about it, I became interested and started studying at a Japanese language school in Myanmar. After that, I also wanted to work in Japan, so I came to Japan at the age of 25. I've always loved cooking, and I wanted to work in the kitchen in Japan, so I obtained a specific skills qualification in the food service industry and took on my current job.

──What is it like actually living in Japan?

Japan is safe, quiet, and very comfortable to live in. However, I feel a little lonely not being able to spend time with my family. However, I feel a sense of connection because we can talk face-to-face online via video calls and other means. Also, my cousin is currently working at the same facility as me, so I feel a sense of security, and it's reassuring that we live together.

──What kind of work are you doing now?

I currently work at a nursing home, preparing meals for the residents. I am in charge of cooking three meals a day for about 45 people, and I mainly serve Japanese food. I do all the work, from preparing the ingredients to cooking. Japanese food is delicate and requires a lot of ingenuity, but I really enjoy making it. When I first saw Japanese udon, I was surprised at how thick the noodles were (laughs).

──What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

The most enjoyable part of my job is definitely cooking. I get to learn a lot about Japanese cuisine, and when I'm concentrating on cutting ingredients and other tasks, the time flies by. Personally, I love Japanese curry, so I enjoy making it. I also get to learn about diverse food cultures through my work, and I find it very rewarding because I'm doing something that's good for the health of the residents.

Dinner prep is also perfect! Vegetables are carefully cut and prepared.

--Is there anything difficult about your job or something you have to be careful about?

The most difficult part is when I'm frying food. I need to be careful not to burn it, and I have to do a lot of different tasks at the same time, so it's hard to pay attention to everything. Also, when it comes to meals at nursing homes, even if the menu is the same, ingredients need to be cut into small pieces and presented in different ways depending on the individual resident's condition . One mistake could be life-threatening for a resident, so we need to be constantly vigilant. Some residents have diabetes or cannot eat solid food, so we make sure to understand how to present each type of food accordingly.

Zimmer carefully checks the food in advance before preparing it for dinner.

──Please tell us about your dreams!

Everyone at work is kind and it's a great environment. I would like to continue working in Japan for at least 10 years, so I am aiming to obtain Specified Skills No. 2 .

It's still a long way off, so I'm not sure what I want to do, but I hope to open a Japanese restaurant in Myanmar in the future. My dream is to use what I've learned in Japan to have my own restaurant. Towards that goal, I will continue to work hard and prepare delicious meals for the residents.

Left) Mr. Zimmer, Right) Mr. Sugimoto

──Finally, we asked Sugimoto, a nutritionist at the facility, about Zimmer's work!

When it comes to meals at nursing homes, some residents can eat regular meals, while others have difficulty swallowing or are diabetic, so even if the menu is the same, it is necessary to take care of each individual, such as cutting food into bite-sized pieces or changing rice to porridge. Because this can be a matter of life and death, it is necessary to maintain a sense of urgency and continue to exercise the utmost care.

Zimmer joined the company last summer and completed two months of training at another facility in the group before being assigned to our facility. Right from the start, she perfectly understood how to read and write on the board listing meal types, and I was amazed at how quickly she absorbed information. She has been praised by other dietitians as "excellent," and there are no problems communicating in Japanese. I'm also impressed by her attitude of always asking for clarification when there's something she doesn't understand, such as when I use the Kyushu dialect.

Before Jimmer-san came, I had no experience working with foreigners, so even when I heard in the news that the employment of specific skilled workers was increasing, I had a vague idea of what it was actually like. However, after working with two Myanmar staff members, including Jimmer-san, I was amazed at how talented they were. To be honest, there were some areas where I wasn't as good as they could be (laughs). There were many gaps, in a good way, and I felt that it was the right decision to hire foreign workers. I am grateful every day and look forward to watching them grow in the future.

Thank you so much, Mr. Sugimoto and Mr. Zimmer, for sharing your valuable experiences! We at the Food and Beverage Association will continue to support you so that you can continue to be successful in the future.

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