Restaurant keeper: Why speak Belarusian when 90% of clients do not need it?

The organizers of language courses Mova Ci Kava (Belarusian for Language or Coffee) discussed the gastronomic issue together with Aleh Pashek, restaurant keeper of Kamyanitsa, and Belarusian-speaking waiter Zmitser Trafimchyk, during the first class in 2014. Belarusian in Kamyanista is an image issue, the restaurant keeper says.

“The demand for Belarusian-speaking waiters is very high. On the other hand, it is more of an image issue. We have very few Belarusian-speaking clients.”

Belarusian-speaking clients often bring foreign tourists with them to Kamyanitsa, he said. However, despite the Belarusian image of the restaurant, the majority of clients speak Russian.

Zmitser Trafimchuk is a teacher of Belarusian and literature. But he is a waiter now. The young man uses Belarusian in everyday life. This thing has never influenced his ability to get a job at restaurants and cafes, he said. Most people like Zmitser’s Belarusian language. Nevertheless, if a Russian-speaking client refuses to accept Belarusian, he switches to Russian, the waiter admitted.

“When a guest refuses to accept Belarusian and refuses to understand it, I will switch to Russian if it makes them feel comfortable.”

The main problem of Minsk bars, cafes and restaurants is not the lack of Belarusian-speaking waiters. It is the lack of their professionalism. Few people want to make a career in this sphere, most of them consider it a temporary job for a few months or years. Restaurant keeper Aleh agrees with Zmitser. There is usually a Belarusian-speaking waiter or waitress per shift. The rest study with an invited teacher. That is why all of them know Belarusian greetings. However, it is difficult to teach them gastronomic terms – waiters come and go rather often. There is no sense in providing them with long-term language courses.

“We have a Belarusian-speaking waiter in every shift. You can teach Russian-speaking waiters Belarusian too. However, the profession is not prestigious nowadays. They come and go, most waiters are students or part-time students,” Aleh Pashek said.

Kamyanitsa and similar restaurants are rather an exception, the restaurant keeper noted. Most Minsk bars, cafes and restaurants do not need Belarusian-speaking waiters – all their clients speak Russian and everyone is satisfied.

“We invite a teacher of Belarusian from time to time and she gives classes to this or that shift of waiters. But why would Falcone and Sem Pakoyeu need Belarusian if 90% of Minskers speak Russian? The truth is – they do not need it.”

The restaurant keeper and the waiter agree that the presence of the Belarusian language in cafes and bars is directly connected with its popularity in the other spheres of life. We should not expect restaurant keepers to promote the language. They will do it when their clients start speaking Belarusian.