CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY

Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca

More Music Shows …

Having produced, annually, The Island Music Awards shows on three occasions, I did my largest show in Sri Lanka in 1992. It was The Island Music Awards 1991, staged at the largest hall in Sri Lanka – BMICH National Convention Centre. At that time, I was the General Manager of Mount Lavinia Hotel and the Catering Services at BMICH. This was my last major production before I left Sri Lanka for good, and I was keen to do something spectacular and memorable.

As usual, as the first step I developed a concept for the show with input from many musicians. In brainstorming with a large group of creative people (some with strong personalities), at times the discussions can be prolonged with ideas people reluctant to compromise.

Therefore, on this occasion, I came with my vision for the show and then requested input from the musicians. It worked well. I accepted most of their suggestions and the team fine-tuned the concept. With that, we were able to take this show to a much higher level, in production terms, than all of the previous shows that I had produced in Sri Lanka.

In addition to employees of the hotel and BMICH, our production team for that show comprised 153 professionals (musicians, dancers, choreographers, set designers, sound engineers, lighting engineers, special effects professionals, make-up artists, photographers, video recorders and my favourite stage manager – Kenneth Honter).

I added two new features to this show – a complete dress rehearsal the day before opening, and the show video launched on TV a week later. We commenced the show exactly at 7:00 pm with a full attendance of 1,506.

As written on my concept document and the detailed cue sheet, we had two segments with contrasting sub-themes. For each segment, we used contrasting music, choreographed dance acts, special effects, lighting and sound. It had two major ‘ambitious’ set changes with unprecedented special effects, to enhance the two segments of the show.

Nature

The first half was themed: ‘Nature’ with waterfalls, large trees, mist and 34 little ballerinas performing as butterflies, birds, blossoming flowers in a rainforest waking up early in the morning. A gentle ray of the morning sun gradually made the lead singer of the first song visible to the audience. It was slow moving and misty using greens and blues in the backdrops with subtle lighting. It was a gentle and happy celebration of our beautiful nature.

Future

The second half was themed ‘Future’ with humankind advancing with science and flying rockets, but destroying our planet with short sighted policies, unwanted wars and disruptions. It was fast moving, with sounds of explosions and smoke, using red and orange in the backdrops with flashing lighting. In one scene a rocket landed on the stage, militants came out of the rocket and took a performing singer as a prisoner before flying away from the BMICH stage. It was a warning that we are selfishly destroying our planet.

The audience loved the theatrics of this last show. The contrast of these two concepts conveyed a powerful message. I selected only 12 songs to be performed in between segments of award presentations. By then I had learnt that ideally a good show should not exceed two and half hours, including a 20-minute interval.

The trick is to end the show at a peak when the audience is craving for more, instead of prolonging the show for over three hours. In most of the shows I produced over the years, a finale with a popular song sung by many of the stars of the show was a signature ending. Often the audience joined in singing the final song with the musicians while giving a standing ovation.

With Noeline and Sohan, I co-wrote two new songs aligned with the two segment themes of the show (they did most of the work!). The song, ‘Nature’ dominated the top of the pop charts in Sri Lanka for several weeks, and a year later, Noeline and I jointly won The Island Music Award for the ‘Composer of the Year.’

The experiences I gained in showbiz productions in Sri Lanka were memorable and useful in the next phase of my career as an expatriate hotelier when I produced more shows in the Middle East, South America and the Caribbean. In the 1990s I hosted many stars including Angela Bassett and Harry Belafonte. I was also involved in collaborating in music stage productions featuring Dionne Warwick, Ernie Smith, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires etc. in Jamaica.

One day in 1998, I hosted the former British Prime Minister, John Major, for a glass of champagne in my office at Le Meridien Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. When he saw some photographs of shows I had produced and stars I had hosted, he was very impressed. With a big smile on his face, he took time to go through all the photographs in my office. For sure, “There’s No Business Like Show Business!”

Looking for Opportunities to Collaborate

Le Galadari Meridien Hotel produced a string of large, music shows with top Sri Lankan musicians and café theatres with international musicians. The hotel became the Mecca of the international and western music scene of Colombo in the late 1980s. We held regular, international food festivals in our restaurants and made Colombo 2000 the only five-star night club with a seven-night operation. Producing our own shows were a lot of fun and definitely increased our banquet income. These initiatives helped my team to achieve record food and beverage revenues and the highest departmental profits since the inception of this 500-room five-star hotel.

In my capacity as the Director of Food and Beverage, I was looking for new opportunities for collaborations to further enhance our reputation and business. When a reputed hair-dresser returning to Sri Lanka after making a name for himself in England, organized a large hair style show in our ballroom with professional models, I was surprised by the popularity of that show. They managed to fill the ballroom.

By then we had a smooth running operation and a team very familiar with all aspects of stage production, logistical coordination (box office, set up, quick catering during the interval etc.) and promotion of large music shows. I wondered if we were ready to diversify to large fashion shows…….

A Mega Festival in Oman

“I am Vijay Vijeyakumaar, the Financial Controller of Oman Sheraton. Do you have 15 minutes to discuss a business opportunity in Muscat?” a Sri Lankan hotel guest approached me during my lunch time ‘meeting and greeting’ walkabout in the restaurants. I invited him to lunch and we had a productive discussion.

Having heard that Le Galadari Meridien Hotel recently handled three highly successful Sri Lankan food festivals in the Far East and the Middle East, he was interested in collaborating with us. As there were no Sheraton hotels in Sri Lanka and no Le Meridien hotels in Oman, there was no conflict of interest.

I told him that I will request our Executive Chef to recommend three cooks to go to Oman. Vijay had a different plan. He said, “We will provide airline tickets, full board accommodation for two of your cooks and an executive event coordinator”.

“What we are planning will not be just a food festival, but a mega festival with a series of events with Sri Lankan music, fashion dresses by Orientations, top models, fashion designers, choreographers, Kandyan dancers, cultural shows, gems, crafts, an Orchid exhibition etc. We have already partnered with Air Lanka and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oman, who are generously supporting Oman Sheraton”, Vijay added. When I asked what my role would be, he said, “Oman Sheraton is requesting you to kindly coordinate and lead the food and entertainment aspects of the festival.”

I loved that challenge. I quickly coordinated food requisitions for 12 large buffets, buffet decorations and recruiting entertainers and a few others to travel with us to Oman. I worked very closely with Vijay. Eventually, we took a versatile team of 54 Sri Lankans to Oman to take part in this mega festival.

Our team included a well-known Sri Lankan choreographer and fashion promoter, Senaka De Silva, who arranged for a group of top fashion models. Fashion designer, Mangala Innocence (Samaraweera), and Sohan and the X-Periments band also joined us. I negotiated with Executive Chef Emile Castillo to release his Banquet Chef and Head Staff Cook to accompany me to prepare buffet lunches and dinners for six days in Muscat. The whole team was accommodated at Oman Sheraton. Most of us spent 10 days in Muscat.

By observing Senaka De Silva’s talent and professionalism in choreography and versatility in visual and performing arts, I became more interested and knowledgeable about fashion shows. In addition to his team of fashion models, two festival hosts – my wife, and socialite Radha de Mel became additional models for some of the daily fashion shows.

In Muscat, while coordinating the 54-member Sri Lankan team, I became extremely busy. For a few of them it was their first-ever overseas trip. That meant me spending some extra time speaking in a coach and advisor role, as well.

Although Vijay promised five Indian cooks from Oman Sheraton to assist the Banquet Chef and Head Staff Cook from Colombo, I faced a big challenge in Muscat. The German Executive Chef of Oman Sheraton refused to release any cooks from his team to assist with the preparations of the 25 Sri Lankan dishes that I had included in the buffet menu.In spite of my PR and diplomatic approach in dealing with the Executive Chef, he refused to change his stand. “I have only 35 in my team to prepare food for six restaurants and banquets! I simply cannot spare any of them to do advance preparations for you. The Financial Controller does not understand my operational challenges!” He put his foot down.

“Look here, Chef. I have been in your shoes. I understand your challenges very clearly, but two Sri Lankans cannot simply prepare 12 buffets for 200 customers per meal. You may have to pay some overtime to your cooks, or arrange some hotel school students to help in your kitchens. We need assistance to increase your food revenue significantly over the next week!” I emphasised.

Eventually, we negotiated and agreed that the Executive Chef will allocate just two Indian cooks. As that was not enough support, I decided to prepare one third of the dishes myself. I delegated some of my non-catering responsibilities in Muscat to Sohan Weerasinghe. I found some extra chef uniforms in the Sheraton uniform room and jumped into action in the kitchen. I cooked on all six days. Le Galadari Meridien Hotel’s Banquet Chef and Head Staff Cook were pleasantly surprised and highly appreciative of my efforts in the kitchen.

Fortunately, my background as a former Executive Chef and my experience in leading two, large Sri Lankan food festivals in Hong Kong and Singapore in the early 1980s, became handy. However, having been out of touch with cooking for some years, it took a couple of days for me to get back to the rhythm of cooking large quantities.

The Executive Chef of the Sheraton was very impressed with the professional operation we ran in his Indian kitchen, while keeping his food cost percentage low. “None of the Food & Beverage Managers or Directors I have worked with in the past, could have done that in a kitchen!” he joked and became a supportive friend.

There was a large community of Sri Lankan workers in Oman, who were keen to come to our buffets, but the Sheraton pricing was far too high for most of them. Therefore, I convinced the hotel to have a limited menu buffet at an affordable price on a Friday when most Lankan workers were off duty. Sohan and the X-Periments entertained over 1,200 Lankan workers who gathered on the lawns of the Oman Sheraton for that additional event. Sohan compèred in Sinhala, to the loud cheers of homesick Sri Lankans. It was extra work for us in the kitchen, but we enjoyed pleasing a large group of Lankans away from their homes and families, saving money to remit.

The food part of the festival was very popular. Omani customers also liked Sri Lankan culture, fashions, tea, gems, orchids and music. The festival was a big success. After my non-stop cooking for six days, I was exhausted. I slept for a full day after the festival was over, while the rest of the Sri Lankan delegation were taken on sight-seeing tours. I told myself, “No more food festivals!” but in the mid-1990s, I organized and led two more large Sri Lankan food festivals in Guyana and Jamaica. Never say never again!

I did a short tour of the country the day before I left Oman. That tour included a visit to Al Bustan Palace, one of the most luxurious and expensive hotels in the world. At that time, it was managed by InterContinental, but without permission to change the name of the hotel. Surprisingly, it also had a very low occupancy. None the less, it was a prestigious management contract for InterContinential.I liked Oman. 18 years later when I was offered the position of CEO for a company owning five hotels in Oman, managed by Aitken Spence Hotels, I was pleased. However, I did not accept that offer, simply because my family did not want to leave Canada to live in the Middle East.

Creating the first Fashion Model of the Year Event

From my occasional chats with Senaka while in Oman stemmed an idea and the concept of the first-ever ‘Fashion Model of the Year’ competition and a grand finale fashion show in Sri Lanka. This new annual contest and show was conceptualized soon after we returned from Oman. It was held later that year with Senaka as the choreographer, Le Galadari Meridien as the venue and host and myself as the producer.