Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Friday, 24 April 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
In an age where contemporary cuisine evolves in the blink of an eye, the Galle Face Hotel has remained ever popular by serving scrumptious traditional Sri Lankan delicacies to all its customers both local and international. German Executive Chef Jan Seibold, the newest addition to the Galle Face Hotel portfolio, has proven himself to be a remarkable culinary artist as he prepares to revive and revolutionise Sri Lankan cuisine and take it to the next level. 
Originally from the farms of Stuttgart in Germany, Chef Jan mastered his culinary skills the old-fashioned way, by practicing in the kitchen at his home. Having successfully completed his culinary education in reputed universities, he began his career at the age of 17 and ascended through the professional ladder by working with renowned hotels such as the JW Marriott Cairo in Egypt, The Imperial in New Delhi and Sahara Hospitality Ltd where he served as an Executive Chef.
“My dynamic experience with different cuisines and cultures around the world has definitely made me who I am today. As South Asia is known to have a culturally diverse population; its hospitality is much more intense in its culinary versatility and expertise and I believe Sri Lanka, in that regard, is full of potential,” Chef Jan said giving more focus to the culinary products that the Galle Face Hotel has to offer in Sri Lanka.
With strong emphasis on retaining the authenticity and heritage of The Galle Face Hotel, he stated that his main focus was to develop a modern style of preparing food through the hotel which will eventually make Sri Lankan cuisine better known in the global platform. He was very pleased with each and every staff member at his disposal and claimed that team work was the only way towards success.
“Although this is my first experience in Sri Lanka and its cuisine, I am very pleased to be a part of a hotel with a rich heritage and a strong drive for hospitality as I consider The Galle Face Hotel on par with iconic hotels such as Raffles – Singapore and the Imperial in New Delhi. As I have much to learn of its history spanning 150 years, I am determined to expose my culinary skills in order to keep up with the standards of the hotel.”
Chef Jan strongly believes in using products which are culturally influential. He stated that he prefers to work with fresh and natural products and as a principle chooses organic over artificial. With his vast experience with Thai, Japanese, North Indian and German cuisines, he viewed Sri Lankan food to be versatile and fragrant. “I am amazed with the freshness of ingredients, quality of vegetables and the richness of seafood available in the country. With such potential my aim is to strive to create signature dishes with a mix of fusion cooking and to change the concept of a few dishes such as the ‘devilled dishes’, as it only consists of a stir fried element. ”With growing opportunities in hotel and tourism fields of Sri Lanka, he insisted that hotels need to be wise in managing food resources and develop the hospitality education provided to those who are entering the industry.
Amidst all competition brought on with the development of new international hotels, Chef Jan is confident in his beliefs and is actively working towards the transformation of the food at Galle Face Hotel and introduce a revolutionary twist to Sri Lankan cuisine.
