When he takes off his white coat, he "hits" the winter coat

It is not only the work of a nurse that is close to her heart. She also admits that her kitchen suits her well, and she is a real master at preparing the winter room, although she won't say so. Those who enjoy her salads, jams, and ajvar know this best

10712 views 25 reactions 9 comment(s)
After work - kitchen, Photo: Private archive
After work - kitchen, Photo: Private archive
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

When she finishes her shift in the Emergency Service and takes off her white coat, a woman from Nikšić Radmila Kalezić he rolls up his sleeves, puts on an apron and prepares a winter coat according to the traditional recipe.

Thanks to her, many customers, who don't have the time or the will, felt, as they say, a bit of the homely atmosphere like in the old days.

A Rada, as everyone calls her, is satisfied that she is equally successful both in the Emergency Service and in the kitchen, which both patients and consumers are satisfied with.

"As a child I was a bit sickly and I guess that's why I kept saying that I would be a doctor. I liked the medical worker's call. After secondary medical school, which I completed in Cetinje, I did not enroll in university, but immediately started working. I knew how responsible the job was, but when I started working, I had no idea how difficult it was," said a nurse who put on a white coat almost four decades ago for "Vijesti".

It's hard when someone has no help

She tells that she changed many outpatient clinics, worked with more or less ill patients, was in the operating room, and has been working for years in a service whose phone number everyone knows.

"The job of a nurse is quite difficult, very responsible, but above all humane, regardless of which department you work in. However, an emergency service is still an emergency service. We have one team that can't cover the entire municipality, yet we reach everywhere. Since we got a new director and chief, we have hired a standby team so that, if we are out of town, they 'jump in' as needed."

She works in shifts and spoke with the "Vijesti" journalist after the night shift. She says that even though she comes home tired, she can't sleep. She would also like to put her work aside when she takes off her white coat, but she admits that sometimes she can't do that.

Radmila Kalezić
photo: Private archive

"You cannot so easily forget that, unfortunately, you could not help someone. That is hard. But then it happens that we save someone's life and that "raises" us. It's hard work, but if I could go back in time, I would follow the same paths again. The beauty and humanity of this work are 'stronger' than the weight and responsibility it carries.

The products also arrived in Switzerland

It is not only the work of a nurse that is close to her heart. She also admits that her kitchen suits her well, and she is a real master at preparing the winter room, although she won't say so. Those who enjoy her salads, jams, ajvar... know this best.

She says that she started working more seriously in the kitchen when she got married. After all, it was the mother who was in charge of the kitchen, and hers was only to help. With her marriage, she also "entered" the world of cooking. Advice from her mother, neighbors, exchange of recipes, and step by step she "conquered" the kitchen. Zimnica was an integral part of that, and at the persuasion of her colleague, she started selling what she prepared.

"My colleague put the wind behind me. I turned the living room of my wife into a kitchen and started preparing larger quantities of salads and jams, while I was making ajvar at my colleague's house. Nade Backović, because I had no conditions in the apartment. What I prepare for the household, I also prepare for sale".

Radmila Kalezić
photo: Private archive

And everyone is satisfied - customers because they got quality products, she because she was able to fill the budget with additional work.

"When I came home from the day shift, and the vegetables I ordered arrived, I knew I had to stay all night to finish them. It has to be done. My husband helps me the most, although there is no room for more people to work in the apartment."

They have a plot in the suburban settlement of Straševina. There is a garden, various vegetables, and Rada hopes that soon a workshop could "sprout" there, because her goal is to improve the business and to "float" in entrepreneurial waters.

"I registered the agricultural holding and last year, at his persuasion, I participated in the fair. I did well, although I didn't have a lot of stock, because I sold almost everything before that. My winter coat even reached Switzerland. I would like to improve this, to create better working conditions and to open a workshop. Healthy, quality food is always at a price".

And this year, the Municipality decided to allocate around 40 thousand euros of non-reimbursable support for women entrepreneurs from the budget. Rada also applied for the competition, and she says she would really appreciate the help.

"I practically start from the meadow. There is only a garden on the plot, and I intend to buy a building and open a workshop. I hope that I will receive some funds from the Municipality, I will also invest something and that I will be ready for next fall. I heard there are 70 applications. Although with such a large number of applications, it is possible to get less money, I am glad that more and more women are turning to a business".

Although she likes her work as a nurse, although the kitchen is her favorite work space, Rada points out that she likes the role of grandmother the most. She is glad that her daughter followed in her footsteps and put on a white coat, and she hopes that her daughter and daughter-in-law will find the work around the winter house as interesting as it is for her.

But, as he says, when the time comes, because now she is here.

Bonus video: