Athula
Senanayake is probably the most successful restauranteur in the island. He runs
a string of establishments, catering to almost every level of culinary needs.
There is the flagship Don Stanley’s fine dining restaurant , the epitome of
elegance and class. There is Don’s Café, warm and cozy with well
priced food and a homely atmosphere. There is also a range of other fast food
outlets, ranging from gourmet pizza to kothu rotti, burgers to deli style
sandwiches. As if that wasn’t enough there is also a thriving outside
catering service to run and at least three other outlets in development as well.
Athula Senanayake is a man who has plenty on his plate.
Colombo is a place where many restaurants open up - indeed it is the only section of the entertainment industry which is thriving . It seems easy enough; get a good location, hire a manager and staff; do a little advertising; and the customers and the money should start rolling in. But as Athula testifies, it is a grinding, hands on, twenty four hour a day toil to maintain the standards he strives to create and run his empire of eateries. “ I get here at 9:30 in the morning and sometimes work until 1:30 in the morning.”
He’s worked in the food business since he finished his O’ Levels. After starting out as a kitchen apprentice in the Galle Face Hotel (“It was the only one around at the time. Shows how old I am.”) he moved onto the Intercon, and then to hotel school. After winning a scholarship to study in Austria, he worked for the Hilton in London, got married and then returned to become Asst. F&B Manager at the Oberoi, and then F&B Manager at the Colombo Hilton, at the age of 35. “Then I realised that I had reached a certain point in my life and decided to branch out on my own. Tony Buha, my executive chef and right hand man, we look back at photographs of those early days and think , what the hell were we doing? Dot matrix printers and plastic folders. It could all have gone horribly wrong . But we had a lot of support from places like DFCC, and that helped. I just had to have my own place so that I could tell people to get out of it if I wanted to.
A strange reason ?
Well, there was more to it than that that. But I’ve had some difficult experiences too. People calling me a black bastard in my own country. Now, Rosy and I are equal partners in the business, the only partners. She had a lot of input into the design and decor of the outlets, and initially a lot of people did come because of who she is - they still do. But she spends more time with the kids now (two daughters, Thisakya, 9 and Radhya , 7 and one son , Kanishka , 14) though I try to be as involved as possible in parenting.
How did things begin ?
Don Stanley’s is named after my father , who contrary to popular belief wasn’t a big gourmet, but he was a good father. Then we started Don’s Café because we thought that Colombo needed a place where young adults could go when they wanted something light , a comfortable place to hang out and relax. That’s why everything is in earthy browns, we wanted to steer clear of the high tech look. After that , we tried to diversify into different markets, since no single market is big enough to sustain us alone - except perhaps the mass consumption rice and curry market which we do not focus on.
And contrary to popular practice, we do not believe in cut price business but rather value for money. If you give people a 40% discount, then they are in no position to demand anything and so the client is compromised. We don’t get everybody but who we do get is people who are demanding and specific about what they want. For instance , the outdoor catering business - we deal with busy executives , maybe both partners are working , they have a dinner party at 8 and they only get home at 7. We provide everything, flowers, cutlery, ice, linen, the works , they don’t have to worry about a thing. And they come back , again and again. But when you deal with that end of the market, you better believe it , you have to deliver and maintain your high standards.
What are the other secrets to your success?
We are very particular about hiring quality staff. They don’t come cheap and any one of them could walk into a hotel and earn quite a bit more. But they don’t. In fact, we have had staff return from the Middle East and start working the very next day. Even if we can’t compensate them financially, we do so in other ways - we are always there for them if they need help. One thing is that we’re a very management oriented business - family owned but not family run. So we don’t have a dozen relatives sitting around telling us what to do. We place a lot of trust in our managers.
You had some problems with your bakery because it was situated in a residential neighbourhood ?
Yes, but we’ve moved now. The whole thing was blown out of proportion to some extent . Anyone else would not have made it to page one of the Sunday newspapers, but we did. It comes with the territory of being public figures. If someone finds a cockroach at an eating house, that’s life. But if they find it at Don’s that’s the front page. So we have to be careful . There have been lots of rumours, I know, but if anyone wants to investigate then please come and see , it’s the prerogative of journalists or whoever has a right to know. For us as long as there’s no moral issue involved that’s OK, business is business. It’s been very difficult and I have toughened up quite a bit.
Where do you like to eat when you go out in Colombo ?
The Gables, the Wok. I hate entertaining at my restaurants because I never relax, my eyes are everywhere, correcting and checking. I also like the Chinese chilli crab at the Golden Gate, opposite the Savoy - these crabs are so delicious , they are so full of flesh that they are difficult to open. But call and check if they do have crab before you go.
What does Colombo need ?
It needs a lot more family restaurants, large scale ones that cater to everyone at family prices with good food.
What doesn’t this country need ?
I think international buffets are the worst thing to ever happen - it’s a reflection of the Sri Lankan mentality and indicates indecision. The thinking goes, give them everything and everyone will be happy. But this means that they just serve a mish mash of things , nothing goes with nothing, and a lot of food is wasted. It’s just miles and miles of mediocre food . It would be better to have two buffets, each with complementing dishes. Fewer dishes, better meal.
Why do so many restaurants open in Colombo - why are they the only expanding section of the entertainment industry ?
A lot of people get into it as a fad - perhaps they make their money selling tyres or something and then they want to get into something glamorous - usually with dire consequences. It’s a tough business - look at what happened to Max’s San Remo, it seemed promising but……it’s easy to start restaurants but much more difficult to maintain them. I could get on the phone and call five people, each of them willing to bankroll a new outlet . But after that, things are much more difficult. A lot of people get into the restaurant business because it seems glamorous. In fact, someone once said, you run the place I’ll just walk around and be sociable, distribute my card and things. I respect outfits like Sweet House - those guys have a clean cut approach, choice availability, quality control - good stuff. ”
Do you like cooking?
Yes, I do actually. I’m experimental, nothing’s repeated , always something different - but while with savoury stuff you can mess around, with sweet things you have to be more careful. I cook for my family, I am an expert in reconstitution, making things out of leftovers. In fact, I think that’s how cooks should be judged in competition - nowadays it’s just purely on the visual. They should each be given the same basket of ingredients and told to come up with the most innovative and tastiest. It should be 85% taste, 7% smell and 8% visual.
What do you do when you’re not working ?
I watch a lot of movies. I am a keen follower of limited over cricket, and get very upset when people call it a cowboy game. I am very anti-test cricket - what other game lasts for five days ?? The closest is three hours. You notice no-one ever watches the entire match, they just compulsively check the score.
What’s the future ?
I want to be fully retired by the time I’m fifty. That might sound decadent, but after that I intend to do exactly what I want to do .
What do you like eating ?
Steak. Just chop the horns off and bring it to me. I like it very rare. I also like Japanese food. Come to think of it, I like a lot of food raw.
A psychologist would have a field day. So how would you define yourself ?
I don’t like constructive criticism but I don’t mind people bitching. I’m a hard guy if I want to be, but usually fair. I like doing things which are practical and can be maintained - I try to make exceptions only if I can justify it to myself, which is becoming increasingly difficult. I have some creative talent, a madness to do things, but I need people around me to bring me down to earth. Someone once said that most things are achieved by unreasonable men - by those who buck the system. I believe that. The other thing I have hanging in my office says “There are those who see and ask why: others dream and ask why not ?” Sounds sensible to me.
Sri
Lankan designer Dinesh Chandrasena who graduated from the Fashion Institute of
Design Merchandising in Los Angeles last year is now Head Designer at the
Learner Company. The company which has offices in New York and Los Angeles,
specialises in menswear and womenswear for the American and Far Eastern markets.
Dinesh is presently working on another exciting project which is the launch of their new fragrance for men - “Kohiba” - which is named after a Cuban cigar!
He also designs fabrics for “Perruzo”, a company manufacturing high quality material for fashion houses. Peruzzo too is based in Los Angeles with outlets spread across the United States of America.
The Association of Fashion Designers of America has invited Dinesh to show a mini collection of his creations at a fashion show to be held on August 3 this year, at the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills. Young designers from the U.S.A., France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom would be displaying their creations at this show. Dinesh would represent Sri Lanka and is busy at the moment creating his collection, through which he intends projecting the image of Sri Lanka and the timeless elegance of the east.
The eastern theme in shades of grey used by Dinesh in his debut collection presented at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles last year proved to be extremely popular. His ceation for the finale, received high praise. The white silk evening gown he presented had its train heavily embroidered in a sun-burst of sequins, pearls and beads in shades of orange, turquoise, emerald green and gold and received a standing ovation when it was displayed by the model. This outfit was selected for permanent display at the Fashion Institute of Design Merchandising in Los Angeles.
Dinesh began his career in fashion designing when he was seventeen. He was placed first runner-up at the Dress Designer of the year contest held in Colombo. He has since designed and choreographed a number of shows in Sri Lanka, among them the annual Duro fashion show and Apparel Fair.
He also presented his collection at a gala fashion display held in Los Angeles, the proceeds of which were in aid of “The Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation”. For this show too, Dinesh based his creations on the east, using handloom fabrics and natural silks from Sri Lanka.
Moving to the U. S. A. in 1991, Dinesh followed a four year course in Fashion Design and Merchandising at FIDM in Los Angeles, and obtained his degree in 1996 having won the Michael Novarese scholarship for a further one year advanced study course in fashion design.
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