Fine Culinar, d. o. o and Consult Commerce, d. o. o.

From planes and cookies to dumplings

Miro Cerkovnik worked as a flight technician with the former Adria Airways  for more than 30 years and his wife Darja worked in the Tržiča paper industry. When economic problems arose, it was time to think about their future. Darja has always had a passion for baking, treating her friends and  family to homemade cookies. One day in 1996, the couple decided to build  their own bakery to make cookies and desserts with their own hands. As usual, things did not change overnight and it took them a good three years  to build the shop in their spare time. The first family company, Slaščičarstvo  Cerkovnik, was thus born at the turn of the millennium. Darja took charge of the baking, but the entrepreneurial Miro assumed a management role, despite continuing long working hours in his job. His 15 or even 20-hour workdays continued until 2012, when he finally said goodbye to aircraft and immersed himself in the food industry. Slaščičarstvo Cerkovnik had become an established company, growing both its revenues and range of products and developing a sound philosophy. In 2011, Miro heard that the  food production and marketing companies, Consult Commerce and Fine Culinar, were being sold in Žabnica. “At first, I told myself that I really didn’t  need to open another front at 52 years of age, but I talked to my wife and kids anyway. Matjaž, my son, gave me all the encouragement I needed. He  praised my entrepreneurial spirit at an age when most other people only think about retirement. And after careful consideration I decided to sign the  contract,” recalls Miro, now owner and Director of both companies. This was  a turning point, but there was anything but smooth sailing ahead. 

The long hard road to handmade dumplings free of preservatives

They soon discovered several problems they had not foreseen. The contract with their largest client was terminated even before the sale was  complete, with credit significantly more extensive than had been planned.  If not for Miro’s tenacity and perseverance, the story could have taken on a completely different tone: “At one point I held the phone to call the seller and tell him the deal was off. But I changed my mind and decided to  persevere. When you bite into something, you have to see it through.” 

To enhance their capabilities of marketing and production from Consult  Commerce and Fine Culinar respectively, Miro also bought two registered  food brands, Kraljestvo štrukljev and Dobro in zdravo. They soon had to abandon the former and concentrate on the Dobro in zdravo brand,  whose specialty had always been traditional Slovenian dumplings.  Made with different doughs and fillings, always hand-rolled, without preservatives and using premium ingredients for an authentic taste, they  were far removed from their industrial look-alikes. “Our tartar buckwheat  dumplings were recognized as the most innovative Slovenian product of  2014,” proudly explains Miro. Even though dumplings lead the way, their  other products follow closely: from strudels and pancakes to cannelloni,  moussakas, souffles, pockets with different fillings and filled buckwheat krapi dumplings. 

Food that nourishes the body and the mind 

The profiles of the companies’ clients are diverse, from public institutions,  such as kindergartens, schools and nursing homes, to the largest retailers  in Slovenia, including Hofer, Spar, Lidl, Mercator and Tuš, plus restaurants  and hotels. What distinguishes them from their competition are that their  products are handmade from local ingredients, without any additives or flavor enhancers. “I always ask myself what I would give to my children.Healthy food keeps as strong, fit, full of energy and ready for everyday challenges. This kind of food keeps our brains healthy,” says Miro. He adds that they try to find ingredients locally whenever possible, with at least 80% from Slovenia, even though the scale of their production can make this  difficult. They collaborate with well-known chefs to develop new recipes and  apply the handmade methodology to most of their products. “Our pancakes  are handmade; we can cook eight at once in our pans. Our dumplings — more than 20 kinds of them — are handmade from scratch, we prepare the  dough and roll them manually,” explains Miro. “This is the added value of our products, we can offer consumers the exact taste they remember from  home, the taste that reminds them of their mother’s or grandmother’s cooking,” he adds. 

Not only local ingredients, but also local people

Together the companies employ 50 people, 35 at Fine Culinar and 15 at Consult Commerce. Most of them are 20 to 30-year-old women from nearby towns. The Director describes the relationship with the employees as excellent, with trust on both sides. Last year, the combined  revenue of both companies was €4.3 million. This year they wanted to keep their growth figures in the range of the last few years, between 12% and 15%, but the coronavirus pandemic threw a spanner into their plans. “Because we produce and sell food, we thought that we were not in a vulnerable group; people still have to eat. But we were wrong. We were very dependent on supplying kindergartens and schools, and when  they closed in mid-March for two months, we realized that we cannot be so dependent on these clients and that we had to invest more in retail.  

That’s what we are doing now, and we are also considering delivery and an online shop, following the trends in Slovenia and abroad. But true progress is incremental. Dad was very successful, he has a great feeling for employees and I want to continue his success story,” says Matjaž,  Miro’s son and successor at the head of the companies, which they plan to combine into one entity in the future. 

Entrepreneurial values that unite father and son

Matjaž joined the family company three years ago, having previously gained leadership experience in construction and marketing. Finally, the  temptation to continue the family tradition became too strong. “I did not  decide to come to the family business and take over the management of the family company on the spot; Dad and I talked about it for years. I am personally most interested in production technology, but I have to familiarize myself with all areas of the business,” says Matjaž. A similar process occurred in Slaščičarstvo Cerkovnik, where the business side was  taken over by Katja, the daughter of Miro and Darja, after Darja retired.  Miro has stayed in the company as an Authorized Representative. “All three companies are a part of me, I live and breathe with them and with my employees. Even when on holiday, I don’t like to go far, I prefer Bohinj,  so that I can jump back and see if things are going fine from time to time.  I’m glad that Matjaž and I share the same values, which are fairness to suppliers, clients, consumers and especially employees. These things have to be in order, just like taxes,” concludes Miro.