Kallio High School's legendary chef Marjo Niskanen will be at work on Thursday for the last day. Health problems led to the fact that physical work eventually became impossible.
Yet year before last Marjo Niskanen told HS that he often joked that he would continue working in the Kallio high school canteen until retirement.
However, this Maundy Thursday is Niskanen's last working day as the school's food service manager.
“I have had time to work in the field since I was 17 and here at Kallio high school for 15 years. It's a bit sad to leave,” says Niskanen.
The neck is a legend among high school students and the “queen” of the canteen, about whom the older students tell the younger ones. He has comforted, laughed and asked about the students, many of whom he remembers by name.
Now Niskasen is facing a job change. At the same time, a career in kitchen work ends.
“My body is starting to break down a bit. The harsh truth is that I am no longer able to do that physical work,” he says.
Niskasen has had problems with his shoulder for a long time, and since last August he has not been able to do heavy kitchen work properly. The arthritis found at the doctor and the growing pains eventually prompted him to call off the game.
It is nice for Niskas that the students have considered him a person to whom they can tell their worries.
For the time being, the pain in the shoulder also hinders coping with everyday life. Niskanen hopes that the rehabilitation will be effective so that he does not have to undergo surgery.
“Arthritis will never go away, but if you could get it, it would get worse. I've known for many years that surely at some point the job description change will hit the spot.”
“Even though I always said I would be here until retirement age, I knew it wouldn't necessarily work out. I still didn't think that I would have to give this up so quickly. But that's just how life goes.”
You during the time that Niskanen has worked at Kallio high school, he has calculated that he has had time to meet and feed a total of about a couple of thousand young people. According to him, the young people of the art-focused school have not changed significantly over the years.
“They have always been equally skilled and wonderful.”
Niskanen wrote a small announcement about his departure to the students about a month ago.
“Then quite a lot of messages started coming from Wilma, Instagram and everywhere. They were indeed broken by grief. Someone even said that I don't even want to graduate from here when you leave!” Niskanen says with a laugh.
“Radical ideas, but of course it's wonderful that it has been liked that way.”
My neck there are so many good memories and fun events organized with students over the years that it is difficult to name individual ones, but especially participating in abi videos has been one of the highlights.
“I've received invitations to the extension of the benches and sometimes even a drink ticket, but I didn't go. It's kind of moving that they would have wanted someone from the kitchen there,” says Niskanen.
According to Niskanen, there will hopefully not be any big homework on Thursday, but the vice principal has already asked him to visit the high school later in the spring. Niskanen has also promised worried high school graduates that he will come to the graduation ceremony at the end of the school year.
“I think I'll have some withdrawal symptoms myself, so I'll probably stop by here every now and then,” Niskanen reflects.
Marjo Niskanen adjusted her evening dress for Linna's party in 2022.
Marjo Niskanen has been awarded for his work at the “Oscar-gala” of the professional kitchen and restaurant industry in 2022, where he won two industry Pro awards. The same year Niskanen was also invited to Linna's party.
In his opinion, it shows that even in the professional kitchen industry you can go far if you like your work.
“The work in the school kitchen is such that many people don't even think that there are real people working here too. I don't know if you can say that you can be successful in the field, but you can achieve pretty big things.”
New the job is already known. Niskanen continues as a waste ambassador at the City of Helsinki's service center, meaning he focuses on reducing food waste in schools.
Niskanen hopes that everyday life at Kallio high school will continue on the same track after he leaves.
“A big thank you to Kallio high school for these years and everything. However, I have been coming here every morning for 15 years, so I have had time to see many kinds of teachers and students. It has enriched life.”
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