Lauri Kaivoluoto became an entrepreneur without any experience. Now he has a million-dollar business with his partners.
Celebrity chef and entrepreneur who lived in Vantaa for ten years Lauri Kaivoluoto describes himself as the most followed chef in Finland. He has more than 74,000 followers on Instagram, more than 154,000 followers on Tiktok. With these numbers, the description hits the mark.
Suddenly, one might think that Lauri, 32, got a spark for cooking at a young age, or that cooking and cooking would have become familiar to Lauri already in his childhood with his family. However, this is not the case.
Kaivoluoto was born as the second child of a middle-class family in the summer of 1993 in Hakaniemi, Helsinki. However, the parents got tired of the constant heartbeat of the city and the family moved to a detached house in Klaukkala.
Lauri Kaivoluoto runs the restaurant Backa with his partners in Pakkala, Vantaa. Kaisa Vehkalahti
Kaivoluoto laughs himself when he remembers the family’s rather ascetic conditions in the family house in Klaukka.
– I have to take my hat off to my parents. They went to work from Klaukkala in the center of Helsinki. Our frontman’s house had its own well, from which we took water for washing and other purposes, says Kaivoluoto.
– Only at a later age have I realized why we went to the swimming pool so often with the family and why I am so good at swimming today. We went there because we didn’t have water at home, he laughs.
However, times changed and finally running water came to the family’s house. Kaivoluoto remembers his childhood as happy and safe.
– My youth was spent in the middle of tractors and two-stroke mopeds, as in the country in general. Pretty much like pulling a golden tentacle and a reed on the edge of the sports field. When I was 14–15 years old, I started working and went to a restaurant as a dishwasher.
Lauri Kaivoluoto has learned that in addition to work, he has to take care of himself. Kaisa Vehkalahti
Learn from the best
Kaivoluoto applied for, and was accepted to, the Restaurant School in Perho in 2009. The first internship was at the GW Sundmans restaurant in Helsinki’s Eteläranta, where the current chef of the restaurant Palace, Eero Vottonen, was the chef. Kaivoluoto names Vottonen as one of its trendsetters in the restaurant industry. At the same time, Kaivoluoto was able to learn about the restaurant industry from chef Teemu Laurell, who also worked at GW Sundmans.
– Teemu taught me, among other things, how to make apple juice. I really looked up to him, even though I was only 18 years old and he was 27. I have tried to remember this even when I work with trainees myself. It must be really hard for them and I have to treat it the same way.
From professional exams, Kaivoluoto learned at a young age how to always seek perfection in the restaurant world. Each portion must offer the customer only the best and the whole must be flawless.
– Nowadays, I have a different idea of perfection: it’s not about placing herbs on top of a dish with tweezers, but perfection can be the whole or the customer’s personal experience.
Before the restaurant Backa, Lauri Kaivoluoto had not worked as an entrepreneur. Kaisa Vehkalahti
As a dead end entrepreneur
After restaurant school, Kaivoluoto founded his own business name and performed gigs all over Finland. At the same time, he got a job at a restaurant, where he worked as a chef during his parental leave.
The ascension to senior staff positions happened very unexpectedly.
– Suddenly I was leading the kitchen team without any management training. I succeeded in the task because I was really enthusiastic about what I was doing. I worked long hours, but I didn’t know how to lead at all, Kaivoluoto admits.
In that restaurant, Kaivoluoto got to know his current business partners. Backas manor located in Pakkala, Vantaa was looking for entrepreneurs, and HOK-elanto chose Kaivoluoto with its partners to run a restaurant at the manor.
At that time Kaivoluoto was only 25 years old.
– It is still a big mystery why we were chosen for this. I believe that the reason was our strong desire to do and show, and the fact that we want to do things at a fast pace.
Why did you become an entrepreneur and not stay working in other people’s restaurants?
– My mother has always done a little in every direction, all kinds of things in addition to her own expert work. Over the years, he has had his own horse stable, camping center, ice cream kiosk, cafes and small catering. Through that, I also got the idea that I want to do something of my own.
If Lauri could choose, he would always be doing the dishes. Kaisa Vehkalahti
Kaivoluoto attached his own apartment, his parents’ detached house and his grandparents’ apartment to the company and hoped that the business would start running as desired.
Restaurant Backas’ turnover in 2024 was more than 2.68 million euros. Kaivoluoto does not take credit for this, but good results require the skills of the partners, as well as some luck.
– I am the muscles of the company, Pink is brain and Mireka is the heart. Without their professionalism, this would not be possible.
– It was really strange at first when hundreds of thousands of euros were circulating in the account. Couldn’t understand that on the second day the account shows zero and on the second day there is 70,000 euros.
Full stop
Kaivoluoto says that in his first years of business, he worked about 100 working hours a week. At that time, he worked both in his own restaurant and accepted all catering events that were offered to him.
– I remember sleeping several nights in the yard of Toijala ABC in my pack, because I was simply so exhausted after the catering gig. The next morning I went to the morning shift as usual. It didn’t make any sense, but maybe it’s made me who I am now.
Kaivoluoto and his partners managed to run Ravintola Backa for just under three years before the corona virus came, which stopped everything.
Personally, Korona was a salvation for Kaivuluot.
– For my part, I think that fortunately Corona came. If the corona had not come, I don’t know if I would be here. The company was my whole life until then.
Lauri Kaivoluoto wants to create experiences with his own business activities. Kaisa Vehkalahti
Until the beginning of the 2020s, Kaivoluoto had given his all to the work. When friends celebrated birthdays or housewarmings, Kaivoluoto prepared for the next work gig. Continuous work and self-neglect was visible and felt not only in one’s own condition but also in the actions of those around you.
– I lived with my husband at the time in a shared apartment. One day he announced that he was moving away. That didn’t wake me up either. I thought of course he leaves because I’m never around. I also lost my friends, and I didn’t see my family at all, Kaivoluoto recalls.
Kaivoluoto says that his mother in particular was worried about her son. Kaivoluoto was aware that he was working too much, but he didn’t know how to stick to his own limits.
– Mother said this often, because she herself has worked a lot and must have been exhausted sometimes. But I didn’t take it seriously. Due to the corona virus, I finally had to stop, although of course then there were my own worries about how to survive the corona virus, Kaivoluoto continues.
Restaurant Backas survived the corona era relatively well. Kaivoluoto’s attitude towards work has also changed.
Today, Kaivoluoto sticks to its own boundaries better and the priorities in life have changed. At the moment, Kaivuluot’s working hours are 50–80 hours a week, when social media content production is also included. Kaivoluoto wants to make sure that every day of his life includes a bit of exercise and that he also has time for his loved ones and family. He also teaches the same to his colleagues at the restaurant.
When Kaiviluoto is asked about his relationship status, he smiles.
– Let’s put it this way, I live alone in my one-bedroom apartment in Martinlaakso, but I’m very happy, he concludes with a smile.
Kaivoluoto is satisfied with his life. However, the dreams include moving to quieter areas. Kaisa Vehkalahti