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How do our food experts cook and eat? Dubai-based chef, Shenal Weerasinghe takes our Q&A!

How did you learn to cook? 
I learned to cook in my mom’s kitchen and from Hotel School. From the age of 9, I helped prepare meals by choosing vegetables and meat. I was really into meat as a kid, for some reason. As I got older, I helped prep things by husking fresh corn, shucking peas, and doing other tasks that didn’t involve knives. My mother wasn’t the only one who taught me. My dad also enjoyed cooking, and he specialized in Sunday morning breakfasts, which was fun.

What do you love about being a professional chef?
Food makes people happy, and good food makes people really happy! There aren’t many other jobs where we get to make people happy every day. It’s good to see regular customers come in and say ‘Hi’ knowing they’ve come because they love the food that I cook. Our food helps people celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries and some people fall in love whilst sharing a plate of carefully prepared food. A plate of food may be small, but it can play a huge part in people’s lives. There are lots of good jobs and careers out there, but if you love food, are creative, and thrive on making people happy, there’s no better job than being a chef. And that’s why I love being a chef. 

An underrated ingredient? 

Hmm, I would say smoked paprika. Many people don’t use it because it can rarely be found in a kitchen! 

Your favourite childhood meal? 
Marmite and butter sandwiches! I loved it when I was a kid and I love it still and forever it will be the same. I remember amma used to make it for school and I couldn’t have it for a long time since I’m away from home so whenever I get a chance,  I make myself a sandwich and have it before going to work! 

If you have a free pass to travel to eat anything you want – where would you go?
Oh, that’s something I would love to do! I would go to London and try Gordon Ramsay's Savoy Grill restaurant and order a Classic Beef Wellington and Truffle Mashed Potatoes with Red Wine. 

What’s a dish you’d make to impress someone?
A Prawn Royal Taco with romaine lettuce, Lemon Jam, wasabi, and crushed peas with jalapeño mayo

What’s the most adventurous food you’ve eaten?
Camel Meat in Dubai. 

Your proudest food invention as a chef? 
A Blackening spice with a blend of all spices and bit of love!  

What’s a dish you’d love to make? 
I would say a dessert from Jak fruit in a way that looks and tastes so Sri Lankan.

When you are not working - do the cooking or have someone cook for you?
Oh, have someone cook for me for sure!

What does your own restaurant of your dreams look like?
My dream restaurant would be called “The Waterside” for those who follow a contemporary paleo diet, as well as for those who simply want to eat healthier. The waterside menu would consist of fine dining, comfort food, seafood, local favourites, Sri Lankan rice and curry, steaks, baked goodies, and desserts. Waterside would be situated close to the beach with large windows looking out with views over the sea. The décor would be “caveman chic”: every table would be circular, with a small fire in the middle to provide light and mimic a Paleolithic cookfire.  Each night, dinner would be accompanied by live instrumental music, and every weekend, I would book a storyteller for an after-dinner storytelling performance, to reconnect people with that wonderful, age-old tradition.

What is your go-to dish to make? 
A grilled chicken with mixed green salad.

What’s one thing you’ve learned, working in many professional kitchens? 
Discipline. Consistency, discipline, and ethics are often underestimated in the culinary world. 

What has been the most difficult recipe that you mastered? 
Baked Alaska. The trick behind this dish is placing it in a very hot oven for long enough to ensure that the meringue is firm but the ice cream inside is not melted.

What’s your comfort dish after a long day?
Waffle Iron Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

As an experimental chef, your thoughts on modernizing traditional food?
Today, a mix of market and traditional food is common for most people, but traditional food remains an important source of many nutrients. Traditional food follows a particular tradition and promotes a particular culture, they are also a crowd-pleaser. The meals are more fulfilling and satisfying. On the other hand, modern food is experimental traditional food. You take influences from various cultures, put them together tastefully and you have what we call modern cuisine. The biggest difference lies in the ‘feel’ of the food! 

What’s a dish that perfectly illustrates your experience, knowledge, and skill as a chef? 
This dish I make with Burrata - a product of Murgia in the South of Italy produced from cow's milk, rennet, and cream. It’s what is inside the Burrata that makes it truly special. The Tomato Burrata Salad couldn’t be easier. Similar to a Caprese salad all it requires is a little chopping and assembly but this salad is a great way to let Burrata and seasonal tomatoes shine!