TV Times

TV Times

Aitken Spence Hotels stand tall at ‘Culinary Fair 2005’
By Dunstan Wickremaratne
'It was a moment of joy. I cannot express in words how happy I was when I won the gold and a silver medals as well as an award for the Most Outstanding Chef in the Chefs Guild Culinary Art Competition 2005' said H.B.S. Kasum Premachandra of Waters Edge speaking to TV Times.

Waters Edge is managed by Aitken Spence Hotel Management Company.
The Aitken Spence Hotels became the overall winners of the Chefs Guild Culinary Art 2005, which is organised by the Chefs Guild of Sri Lanka in association with World Association of Cooks Societies.

Aitken Spence Hotels won 97 medals in this years' competition with a medal tally of thirty three including seventeen gold medals, a unique achievement.
Kasum Premachandra started his hotel career in 1997 in Neptune Hotel, Beruwela - the family hotel known for its enchanting ambiance for a holiday with fun filled moments. Since then he has served some of the best known hotels in the country.

He joined Hotel School for his training after which he worked at Triton Hotel, Ahungalla, Taj Exotica, Golden Sun, Palm Village, and Hill Top- Kandy and became the supervisor. He also served as the Kitchen Executive at Brown's Beach Hotel.

In 2004, he graduated in Hotel and Culinary Management and joined Water's Edge in December. Kasun went to Germany for three months for a training course in catering and got back to Water's Edge.

The Executive Chefs of Aitkens' Spence Hotel are R. D. Vincent of Hotel Hill Top Kandy, R.J.Hassim of Kandalama Hotel, Neranjan Morais of Brown's Beach, Sanjaya Liyanasuriya of Golden Sun, Lalith Gunasekera of Water's Edge, Lakshman Pelawatta of The Tea Factory- Kandapola, Arosha Jayasinghe of Triton Hotel and Udayakumar Sivaraj of Regency in Kandy were also present at the ceremony.

The judges of the competition came from across 20 countries including Peter A Knipp, honorary ambassador of the Singapore Food Association and Bernad Michael Uber - Professor of the Culinary Academy - France.

'The Chef's accomplishments not only bring credit and fame to Sri Lanka, but also reflect on Aitken'Spence Hotels, who have encouraged then and given the opportunity to develop their talents, to innovate and create' said director Gemunu Gunawardena. Within a tradition of warm, hospitable service and fantastic cuisine, the group has won many prestigious international awards in this area of speciality including the SAGA good food Award and the CNN Ultimate Service Award for the Indian sub continent at Kandalama Hotel - a brilliant feat for any hotel chain.

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