Josephine and becoming a saladmaster

Photo by Juha Roisko Photography

Josephine Owolabi is the mother of Richelle. Both are consultants of Salad Master Finland along with Celine and Cynthia. Get to know their stories and how they moved to Finland and became Salad Masters.

How did you reach Finland?

I have lived in Finland for six years, but before moving here, I lived and worked in Istanbul with a Finnish family; I am a Turkish citizen. I lived in Turkey for 21 years. My boss was a Finn, and they told me that they were coming to Finland and asked me if I wanted to go with them. I said, ok, I will try. When I came here, in the beginning, I was not too fond of the cold weather. But after several months, I started to like this place; it was just a different culture here, but nice.

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How is your language?

I can understand some basic Finnish, but I use and speak English.

What are your feelings about Finland and Finnish people?

I always smile, but I realized that people are quiet, shy, and reserved here. People here respect privacy, which is very nice. I liked Finland more and more after a while of living here.

What is the meaning of integration for you?

I can go along and adapt to every place I live; I accept the place. I learned to respect the values here: accept the laws, rules, people, and I appreciate them. It is not hard for me.

What is your journey of becoming SaladMaster?

I heard it for the first time from my friend Celine. She invited me to help her in the cooking show. She also came to my house to cook, and I saw the cookware. The first impression was that these cookware are very expensive, but then I saw the excellent quality of cookware, and the taste of the food cooked was so much better and healthier. So, I decided to buy the cookware myself and share it with other people to let them know about it. So, we created a team, and it works well all together doing this job.

Are you an entrepreneur or a worker?

My daughter, Richelle, has a cleaning company. I do part-time work because I cannot do too much work at my age anymore.

What are positive things about your stay in Finland?

Finland is a safe place, comfortable, and the future is secure and good. I am like a stranger in my home country because I have not been there for many years. I feel at home here, and I like my stay in Finland.

What are your favorite Finnish dishes?

Summer soup, kesäkeitto. Every time my family comes to visit, I cook summer soup.

What is the great thing about Salad Master?

The important and the best thing is the health part. It is much healthier to cook with the Salad Master cookware. It is the best thing about it.

What is the hard thing in doing the SaladMaster job?

Usually, the problem is the cost, because the cookware is expensive. Therefore, some people turn down; they don’t get interested. Also, because of the pandemic, it is hard now.

Do you have a dream job, or you want to stay at this job?

I like it, and I would like to continue this work, it is a new thing, and I like it.

Do you have any message for foreigners who live here and want to build a new life?

Foreigners need to accept the changes, go with the flow and with the music, then it is not hard to stay here. Absorb the positive things of Finland. The future is good and safe here, better life.