Figo is introducing
27.03.2019 / About Figo
Profile
Name: Víctor García
Age: 46
Position: Architect
friendly | persevering | intuitive
WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?
I really love the experience of cooking. It is not the simple act of preparing food to eat later. No. It's the experience. It’s about the whole process, the meaning of preparing food and then enjoy it with others.
I was born in Chile but I come from a family of Spanish immigrants. Eating with the family was not a random event. It was the moment in which the Spanish traditions were transferred, we learned about the Chilean culture and family matters were discussed.
In other words, a mixture of ingredients and flavors that turned that moment into something unique and unrepeatable. But that was not all. The experience I am referring to goes even further. From the moment I start thinking about what I would like to cook, I think about what my guests would like to eat and how I can please them. While I am cooking I imagine how the people I am cooking for will enjoy the food and how I will enjoy myself, too. Finally, everything I imagined becomes real and turns out to be a unique experience. It is not easy to live in Germany if you miss these special occasions. For this reason, I try to cook for my family every day and try to build a special, meaningful life.
The passion for cooking has helped me to move forward in Germany. During tough times, I was able to get a job as a cook at a Tapas restaurant or dedicate myself to selling prepared food. I also got the second place in a cooking contest.
This passion for sharing good moments and flavors is my driving force of life. I try to express it through my profession every day, so that each project is the best cooking recipe for our clients. I want them to enjoy a unique experience that leaves a fantastic taste in their mouth and that they eventually want to try more.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST DREAM?
I have a son with Asperger’s Syndrome and oftentimes I feel scared about his future development in Germany, since we come from another country and we have very few people around who can support us. For this reason, building reliable and true relationships is something very important to me and I dream that one day my son, despite all his limitations, will also achieve that in the future.
I would simply like to teach my son that life is an adventure, full of infinite flavors and that he should dare to try them. To show him that in this way, you will meet many people you can share your life and experiences with. I want my son to know that, like in a good cooking recipe, he should look for the best ingredients and be willing to spend all the time necessary, so that the physical and chemical transformation takes place, helping him to achieve that flavor he is looking for.
WHY DO YOU WORK AT FIGO GMBH?
I did not only find a stable source of work at Figo. I also found a place where each job is presented as a creative challenge, since there are always possibilities for improvement. At Figo I work with coworkers and not with colleagues. This difference is important to me. A colleague is a person who is professionally on equal terms with you. A coworker is someone you can count on to walk the road with you and build.
Each employee at Figo, including the bosses, are coworkers. Together we build a basis of trust with a unique recipe to deliver the best service and results to our clients.
DESCRIBE YOUR JOB OR RESPONSIBILITIES IN FOUR SENTENCES
My work is mainly developed as an interior architect. I haven’t worked at Figo for a long time, just over a year. I mainly have to develop projects for stores. This means that, first, I have to collect all the information necessary and develop a preliminary draft. Then, if needed, I must carry out all the proceedings dealt with the Building Regulation Authorities or the corresponding commercial center to obtain the required permits. We continue with the development of the architecture project and the specifications and, finally, all the works are coordinated with the specialists, so that the construction of the store is finished within the deadline agreed with our client.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT AT FIGO SO FAR
At Figo I learned a new conception of office work that I hadn’t known before. I had always longed for something like that but I had never found it. What I learned at Figo is that hierarchy can be horizontal, something new to me who had only known a vertical hierarchy. I learned that the differences among us are determined by the tasks and responsibilities we have. That each one of us is important and necessary for the successful work of the other and that together we are a chain. Each of us is a link and through the strengthening of those links, the chain will be able to bear bigger responsibilities.
WHAT IS DIFFERENT AT FIGO COMPARED TO OTHER EMPLOYERS?
At Figo, nobody thinks they are God. We believe in building a team and moving forward together as a family. This is not self-evident and it’s not something that is massively incorporated in other companies. It is actually something very difficult to find.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO COOK LIFE?
You do not necessarily have to be a person who likes cooking in order to enjoy cooking life. Cooking life is to give your own life thought and preparation and savor it the way you like it. It is the responsibility of each of us to turn our interests and aspirations into each of the activities we develop to obtain the greatest possible benefit.
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO COOK LIFE AT WORK?
Nowadays, our lives are full of routines, as well as our work in the office. However, differentiation and added value are aspects that make some companies excel over others. The only way to achieve this differentiation is to build up a company where the people who work there feel recognized. People who can develop themselves and who are a real contribution to future development. But that wouldn’t be possible if each one of us didn’t have dreams and didn’t look for a way to make them come true.
There is a concept that fascinates me called Umami. This word is Japanese and describes the fifth taste in gastronomy. Umami is not a flavor in itself, as something being salty or sweet. Umami is the perfect and harmonious combination of all types of existing flavors. It is in itself an indefinable and unique flavor, which gives an infinite pleasure to the palate of those who enjoy it. This Umami is achieved with the harmonious use of all the flavors provided by the ingredients used. Each of us has to offer the best of our flavors, specifically offer the best of our works, so that as a company we deliver that Umami or unique result for our clients.
HOW DOES FIGO SUPPORT THIS ASPIRATION?
I faithfully believe in differentiation. Each one of us can and must contribute so that Figo grows and remains unique. In my case, I am working with Figo to offer services to Spanish-speaking companies that are already or would like to set up a business in Germany. The main idea is to offer a complete service in Spanish, that goes from the initial consultancy to the turnkey delivery of the premises. I think it is fundamental that there is someone able to clarify and help foresee complications that later could lead to losses of time and money. I think that this is an essential ingredient and a recipe that is still not well resolved in Germany.
We are going to get there.
Thank you very much for this interview, Víctor