Cooking up a Storm 2!
An interview with the first Sri Lankan Chef in Bangladesh – PART II
When asked what the chef’s favorite dish was to eat he replied with a chuckle, “I prefer eating whatever my wife makes for me”. He added, “I am currently living here alone and I visit my family in Sri Lanka once in four months. My wife & only son are there. When I am in Sri Lanka I cook for my son and wife on weekends. In my spare time here in Bangladesh, I usually spend time with my brother-in-law, who also lives here. Apart from that, I just relax at home and go to church on Sundays.”
Chef says, “I enjoy my work here in Bangladesh because I represent my country by bringing the original taste of my country”. Royal Park has introduced Sri Lankan Night that is held every Friday night, where everyone gets a chance to taste the authentic taste of Sri Lankan cuisine. To top it off and add a touch of Sri Lankan tradition they also serve a lunch pack, which is wrapped in Banana leaf. “I always try to give a small touch of Sri Lankan cuisine in my dishes”, Chef Rajeeva adds. For instance, he serves the special crème caramel in a coconut shell.
And when asked, “What is your favorite dish to prepare?”, he replied, “My most favorite Sri Lankan dish to cook is Maharaja Bhojon, inspired by the meals of Royalties & Kings of Sri Lanka.” The dish is traditionally 36 different items which includes a number of curries of vegetables, fish, chicken and lamb and served with rice. Here at Royal Park the number of items are lesser but you’ll be left feeling like a king nonetheless after you taste Chef Rajeeva’s amazing culinary work.
He also loves to make “Hoppers”, a signature dish of Sri Lanka. It is a pancake made with rice flour, water and salt. It is also made with eggs which is known as egg hoppers. Along with hoppers chef loves making crab curry. As Sri Lanka is well known for seafood.
In fact, one of the chef’s special item of Royal Park is the crab curry. There is currently a Crab Fest is going on at The Royal Park where the Sri Lankan delicacy “Crab Curry” is the star of the show.
“My journey with Royal Park has been wonderful and I am glad that apart from sharing my knowledge of cooking I have been able to spread some love for Sri Lankan music too!” says the chef. To make work fun he sings Sri Lankan songs exchanging a few words with Bangla words and the Bengali staff has also got a grip of the song. We all try to enjoy the work we do here.
As the interview was coming to an end the Chef provided us with some valuable knowledge from his multicultural experience. He mentioned that, “I have two tips for the home cooks who are reading this article, first you must concentrate on what you are cooking and second you have to be able to eat what you are serving to others.”
