Going Sri Lankan the “Jetwing” way

It was an evening filled with “Madu Thalapa”, “Bathala Roti”, “Sour sop Maluwa”, “Maikkan Malu”, “Stuffed Pumpkin Leaves” - few of the many delicacies tasted by the invitees at the ‘Jetwing Go Sri Lankan culinary challenge 2009’ held at Jetwing Seashells Negombo.

Chef teams from the Nine Jetwing hotels competed in this competition, the first of its kind, held as part of a project aimed at exploring, capturing and preserving our indigenous National Culinary Heritage.
Chef Pubilis of Mount Lavinia Hotel, the keynote speaker at the launch of this programme two years ago set the tone for the project, emphasizing the need of preserving a 2500 year old tradition of Sri Lankan cuisine that is not only unique, vivid in many ways, nutritious in many forms and a fountain of wellness; however not as yet sufficiently recognised as one of the worlds best for the simple reason that it remains largely unknown to the world of gastronomy, outside of Sri Lanka.
After the initial foray last year, the Jetwing chef teams have continued to delve deep, going into a lot of research, learning from senior citizens in the hinterland of our land, in far flung villages as far away as remote villages like Meemure in the central province and Monaragala in the deep south, for food that was becoming less consumed and gradually disappearing from the kitchen hearth and the home table; valuable insights and invaluable wisdom which came to be discoverd and reproduced at the "Go Sri Lanka" competition this year.
These food and culinary preparations were being cooked as we strolled around observing the eminent panel of judges that included Senaka Tantrige, the former Chef lecturer and Vice Principal of Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management and Lakshman Liyanarachchi, the Executive Chef of Ceylon Continental Hotel, Colombo. Senaka Tantrige, was all praise for the Jetwing Chefs for the academic pursuits, the painstaking effort and the high level of dedication that obviously reflected the standards achieved.
Chandra Ambuldeniya, the Vice Chancellor of the Uva Wellasa University was the Chief Guest at the awards ceremony of the event with Hiran Cooray, Jetwing Chairman in attendance. Members of the Negombo Hoteliers Association, many tourists and other hotel residents were amongst those distinguished invitees who witnessed the competition with extreme enthusiasm.
The Vice Chancellor was exuberant in his praise for the Jetwing team having recognized the fact that the Go Sri Lanka programme was in his view one of the finest examples of value addition, a concept that was the cornerstone of the Uva Wellasa University.
In his address Ambuldeniya expressed his keenness to work closely with Jetwing to further the boundaries of gastronomy through value addition and expose the undergrads of the University Hospitality Programme to the Jetwing experience. He stated further that the Go Sri Lanka campaign was indeed an idea whose time had come and offered its whole hearted support for the programme.
Hiran Cooray who took the opportunity to meet foreign guests as well as the local invitees complimented the Jetwing Chefs and their teams for the wonderful work that they had done to bring the extensive research to the tables of Jetwing Hotels in exciting and novel preparations.
He invited the visitors to savour the traditional dishes and encouraged them to help popularize our cuisine rather than merely partaking only food that they were accustomed to.
The Go Sri Lanka Culinary Programme objectives include understanding the correct perspective of Sri Lankan cuisine; giving due place to Sri Lankan dishes in the hotel a la carte menu, knowing our spices better, identifying ethnic and regional food and their origins and style, development of the Sri Lankan kitchen, discarding the myth that Sri Lankan food is excessively pungent to the western palate and recording the learning’s for posterity so that others could benefit in the future.
In fact, the Jetwing Chairman encouraged the idea of producing a culinary book to publish the award winning entries as well as the research and collaboration that had brought so many new ideas to the dining table.Jetwing Beach was the overall winner of the Go Sri Lanka Competition, while the following individual winners were also awarded certificated and trophies in recognition of their outstanding entries:
1. Best Sri Lankan Menu – Jetwing Hunas Falls, Kandy
2. Most Outstanding Discovery –
Jetwing Beach, Negombo
3. Best Presentation – Jetwing Beach, Negombo
4. Best Sri Lankan Dessert – Jetwing Seashells, Negombo
5. Best Menu Storyline – Jetwing Hunas Falls
6. Hopper Championship – Jetwing Hunas Falls