Chef Indika’s culinary skills

by Zanita Careem

Located in the hills of Kandy is the Grand Kandyan hotel with Tusitha Samaraweera as the GM. Noted as a five star hotel in Kandy, the staff is known for always giving the extra mile to personalise and upgrade the customer experience. We talk to Indika Ekanayake,the executive chef who makes the hotel special with his delectable cuisine .

What makes the Grand Kandyan stand out from other hotels.

Our five star luxury hotel sets the tone showing the city of Kandy in all its glory with different panoramic views. It is a luxury property that ensure that the guests stay in comfortable ambience. The staff is known for always giving the extra mile of service to thier customers.

Having worked for some of the most prestigious hotels in Sri Lanka, starting from Galle Face, Taj Samudra Hotel and many international and prestigious hotels like Sheraton Sofital and Metropolitan Hot els in Dubai to Safir international hotel and IHG Crown Prince Plaza in Kuwait, He worked in Egypt for a Beach Hotel and gained experience Chef Indika is well known for his culinary skills and his charming persona. He believes that hard work and dedication throughout his career have been the mantra for all his success, he has achieved. The Hotel School in Mount Lavinia gave him a substantive start to his culinary career. He worked in many leading positions abroad earning fame medals and awards.

He has hosted many dinners for dignitaries here and abroad. He said . Chefs are like global ambassadors of their respective cultures. This is reflected during those state dinners.

Sourcing fresh local ingredients and cooking tasty cuisine have been the real mantra of Chef. Indika Cooking with the team in the kitchen give me immense pleasure he pointed out.

Explaining about his e passion for cooking. ” I am thrilled from the excellent feedback from the customers gives me the motivation and makes me spend more time in the kitchen.

Chef Indika, the executive chef at the Grand Kandyan, has a mission to give the best to their clientèle.

What is your opinion at the Grand Kandyan culinary experience? Yes I do love to dish out many varieties of cuisine I have been working here for many years now. The GM and my kitchen team are very cooperative. What I noticed about Grand Kandyan Hotel he said that people enjoy our meals. We have a grand ballroom to hold weddin

g, parties, meetings and all kinds of celebrations and we cater to

 all the customer needs.

What are your plans for the future?

My plan is to improve and give the best to our clients. My forte is to create irresistible cuisines and offers to keep our guests to come to make sure we are delivering the best experience in town.

Who are the celebrities you catered and any memorable experiences?

There are many, kings, queens sheiks, Bollywood celebrities and many more VIPs. They all have written the best reviews about my food.

Your passion other than cooking?

I love to travel, gardening and photography I love to take photos of nature, wild life and people and also try out new recipes

What do you think Sri Lanka’s. prospects as a culinary destination.?

The Sri Lankan culinary scenario has changed drastically and is constantly evolving. The demand for local cuisine is growing as today’s local customers are health conscious and the demand for organic food is high.The demand for international cuisines like fusion food,Japanese and Indian food are growing as today’s customers are well travelled and they been exposed to the global food trends.

It doesn’t take long to realise, there is something different about chef Indika.

He has a restraint, a discipline and a control to his mannerisms, He has certainly created a benchmark at the Grand Kandyan Hotel in the Hills.