Thandar Soe opened on Amsterdam’s Linnaeusstraat the first restaurant in the Netherlands with Burmese cuisine: Yangon Delight. Soe is from Myanmar (Burma) and saw a culinary lack and at the same time an opportunity in the Netherlands. Because she is extremely busy as a beginning restaurant entrepreneur, she did not want to have to worry about her human resources. Therefore, she started the collaboration with JAM! .
How Yangon Delight started
Thandar Soe originally came to the Netherlands with an orientation visa. She came to unwind, but eventually couldn’t sit still and started doing the master’s degree in Sustainable Business Management. Yangon Delight then came about through a confluence of circumstances;
1) Soe knew there was no Burmese cuisine in the Netherlands;
2) when she was in San Francisco there were lines for Burmese eateries;
and 3) she often came to Linnaeus Street during her studies and one day there was a property for rent there.
And that was that!
Tea leaf salad and fish soup at Yangon Delight
Ever had tea leaf salad? Neither had I before stopping by Yangon Delight. Now I can tell you that it is a taste explosion in your mouth. This tea leaf salad is a typical Burmese dish, just like the fish soup. Soe is not a professional chef herself, so she put the dishes together with a Burmese kitchen consultant. Laughing, Soe says: ‘At first I put all the dishes I like myself on the menu. My consultant laughed when she saw that. She helped me put together a manageable menu where I use the ingredients efficiently.’
The collaboration with JAM!
Soe knew right away that she wanted to hand over her human resources management. ‘I was looking for an HR company because I didn’t know how Dutch contracts work,’ she says. One of her full-time chefs, who works at another large restaurant in the Netherlands, told her that he had a contract with JAM! and recommended it. We mainly hear from our clients, the hospitality entrepreneurs, so it is nice to hear that hospitality workers are also satisfied with our services! Her integration coach from the municipality was the deciding factor. ‘Since I wanted to work with an HR company anyway, they advised me to then look for an HR company with specialization in the hospitality industry.’
And does So like the collaboration with JAM!? She nods. ‘In the beginning, I had to get familiar with the MyJAM! app.’ But that’s getting better, and Nikki Jager, her regular HR contact at JAM!, explains everything to her over the phone or in person. ‘Nikki is very helpful,’ ends Thandar Soe.
Want to know more?
We are JAM!, thé HR- and payroll specialist for the hospitality industry. With our 10 years of experience with over 350 clients, we know everything there is to know about the ins and outs of the hospitality industry. We understand hospitality enterpreneurs like no other, and we are happy to take all HR and administrative burdens off their hands. So that they can optimize their businesses! For example Thandar Soe, who creates more awareness about the Burmese cuisine with every guest she serves.
We already work for Ron Blaauw, Horeca Groep Leiden and UMH’s George restaurants, among many others. We also publish a lot for the hospitality entrepreneur. Check out our LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and blogpage to gain knowledge about all things hospitality and HR.
