"The second life"

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Milos Jokic works as a chef de partie at the hotel - he has been working in Austria for over 24 years.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

In his "Krone" series "The second life", author Robert Schneider talks to people who have been given a second chance. He recently met with the professional restaurateur Milos Jokic, who simply fell over on the street one day. 

Where others go on vacation, go skiing and ski touring, have fun and let the guest hang out, who wants to be served immediately, there he works as Chef de Partie, the Bosnian Milos Jokic, in the well-known "Sporthotel Silvretta Montafon". But Milos sees very little of the glorious spring days and the steel-blue sky. He carries out his daily work in the open-plan kitchen, where the stainless steel cooking pots are as big as dustbins, where it is hot, always steaming and smoking and there is a constant hustle and bustle.

"I've outlived four chefs," the very friendly and warm man, who came to Austria in 1999, tells me. He lives in Partenen, in the farthest corner of the Montafon. During the preliminary talk for the interview, he immediately offers to meet me halfway. "Then you won't have to drive so far," he says obligingly.

So we meet at the train station in Bludenz, look out for the nearest coffee house, find a place where it's quieter and we can talk undisturbed. When I ask him the first questions, Milos Jokic still seems very nervous. But his nervousness soon subsides, especially when he talks about his illness, which almost cost him his life.

Robert Schneider: Milos, my first question: you come from Bosnia. Did you flee because of the war?
Milos Jokic: No, I came to Austria from Belgrade in the normal way because my sister was already living here. I can still remember it well: In Austria, the ex-Yugoslavs treated each other normally, regardless of whether they were Christian or Muslim, but as soon as they returned home, nationalism broke out again in full force.

What profession did you learn?
I wanted to go to university, but my mother died when I was just forty. That was the biggest shock of my life because I was very attached to my mother. I had to earn money as quickly as possible.

Where did you stay first?
Right away in Gaschurn. As a seasonal employee. That meant that I had to return home after every winter season. That was always very difficult for me and lasted until 2022. But finally, after twenty-four years with the company, I can stay here.

You told me on the phone that you had a serious accident. What was that like?
On February 25, 2015, I went to work like every day. I was already a chef and pizza chef back then. The last thing I can remember is being transported somewhere in a helicopter. I was unconscious for half an hour, my buddy from Montenegro, who saved my life, told me later. It was a foggy day, I remember that. I was taken to Bludenz. There I was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor ...

Didn't that start earlier? Symptoms? Did you have a headache or anything like that?
No. I obviously just fell over. I was operated on immediately in Feldkirch. For four hours. Here, the side of my temple, there's no bone left. All plastic surgery ...

What was the first thing that went through your mind when you woke up?
I thought of my two young sons, my wife and, above all, my mother. She died young. Do I also have to die young now?

You always look for explanations for an illness so that you can perhaps deal with it better. Have you found an explanation for yourself?
I think so. First of all, the constant stress in my job, which I always played down. Then the separate life with my family. My wife and two boys live down in Bosnia. I can't afford to bring them up here on my salary. I really hope that the older one, who is now 24, can come to Austria. And the third thing was that my youngest son was diagnosed with autism. I am convinced that it is linked to a vaccine that he was given when he was 17 months old.

This series of interviews is called "The second life". Has a second life begun for you after your tumor treatment?
Oh, that would be nice. But in gastronomy? Not a chance. That hurts me. I have so little time to just sit and talk to you like I do now. I work in three positions in the kitchen at the same time. Cooking is like a fight in the ring. Take yesterday, for example: I had to do so many things at the same time. Seasoning a beef soup here, a saffron foam soup there, a herb soup, fish, a vegan children's menu, dessert and so on. What's more, after Corona, there are simply no more good professionals to be found. Unfortunately, that really is the case.

Where do you get the strength to work like this at the push of a button?
My wife and children give me the strength. My family is my soul.

When you retire, would you like to go back to your home country?
Absolutely! Above all, I want to be there for my younger son and for my wife, who is very ill. I've been away from Belgrade for thirty years now. I have no illusions. I'm a foreigner here in Vorarlberg, and in the village where I was born too. So I'm not really at home anywhere. I'm actually happy with small things, for example, I don't drive a car. I don't need one. When I have time off, I cycle from Partenen to Bludenz and back again. That's a total of sixty kilometers. I don't think anyone knows the route as well as I do.