From 'postman' to globe-trotting chef

By Royston Ellis

When S. Laksman Perera was sorting foreign mail at the Central Mail Exchange in Colombo, he never dreamed he would visit the countries the letters came from. Now he is one of the top chefs on the luxurious liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, and cruises the world every year.

Laksman Perera, 38, was born in Elpitiya. He moved to Colombo after schooling and took a job at the Central Mail Exchange. After nine years there he decided his prospects would be better if he could get a job in the Middle East. So he enrolled in a hotel school in Maradana, and was able to get a job for a few months at Ranmuthu Hotel. In 1989, he left for Bahrain to work as a chef.

In 1991, during the Gulf War, Perera got a job on the cruise liner Cunard Princess. "About forty Sri Lankans joined the ship then," Perera recalls. "Many of them left, when the Gulf War finished and several others jumped ship in European ports."

Perera is saddened that fellow Sri Lankans left the ship to stay illegally in Europe. "It makes employers have doubts about employing Sri Lankans overseas because of their bad reputation," he says.

Perera stayed on Cunard Princess learning his trade under European chefs. When he prepared a menu for 960 guests at a special function on board, the Vice President of Cunard was so impressed, he asked Perera if he would like to join the QE2, the most prestigious cruise liner in the world.

For the 1945/95 world cruise, Perera was the Sri Lankan guest chef, specialising in Sri Lankan dishes. In his first year on the ship, he won 1st prize in the Menu Planning Competition and was responsible for the preparation of a six-day Sri Lankan food festival on board.

"The ship visited Colombo and I bought everything from fish to vegetables to spices during its brief stopover," said Perera proudly.

One of his popular dishes is Egg Hoppers with onion sauteed baby shrimps. The Sri Lankan menu he has often served for the 2,000 passengers on the ship consists of Malu Cutlet, Elawalu Kukulmas Soup, Harakmas Bestake (two pieces of sirloin beef marinated and deep fried, topped with sauteed onions, red, green and yellow peppers and coconut vinegar, served with egg plant, boiled carrots, boiled potatoes and plain rice), and Wattalapan.

There are 105 chefs working on the QE2, which has five fine-dining restaurants as well as several other food outlets. Perera's chef's uniform is embroidered with his name and his status: "Chef Extraordinaire".

As a senior chef he is indeed extraordinary. He is responsible for all the fruit, butter and ice carvings on board, and often gives demonstrations of carving as part of the QE2's cruise enhancement programme for passengers. He is also in charge of soup preparation for all the restaurants, including the Queen's Grill which is regarded as the world's foremost ship's restaurant. He prepares three choices of soup every day for both lunch and dinner, making them in cauldrons that contain 240 litres.

For some time Perera was the only Sri Lankan out of the QE2's crew of over 1,000. He has recently been joined by two more Sri Lankans, a junior chef and a steward. Perera himself works under a British contract which puts him on a par with his European colleagues.

He greatly enjoys ship board life, particularly because of the encouragement to develop his talent and the recognition that he has been given on QE2. The luxury liner's next call in Colombo will be during its millennium round the world cruise in April next year. But Perera will be in Colombo before that. When the QE2 reaches Southampton at the end of its current world cruise to all six continents, he will fly home to his wife and two children. He gets one month leave for every four months, enabling him to keep in touch with his Sri Lankan roots while cooking for the rich and famous at sea.

Like the letters from around the world which he used to sort at the post office in Maradana, Laksman Perera, postman turned top chef, has travelled a long way.

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