Thursday Nov 07, 2024
FT
Thursday Nov 07, 2024
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“I love to eat the food my grandmother prepared, which I found to always be delicious. Inspired by her cooking I pushed myself to learn the trade in a professional way,” he said, speaking to the Daily FT.
And so at the tender age of 16, he started his culinary education and worked at a restaurant to gain hands-on training.
Andreas’ first experience as a chef started off in a passenger vessel which entertained 1,300 passengers on a cruise that sailed on the Mediterranean Sea. Taking a break from sailing he then moved to the hill side of Switzerland and worked there for eight years.
“It was quite interesting to know that Switzerland was a holiday destination for many Asians and I came across Japanese tourists for whom I catered during my tenure in the country. I moved to Zurich for some time and then boarded an expedition ship that sailed through the Ice Fields. The expedition started off from North America and was routed to Greenland with an exclusive 120 passengers. This was quite an experience as the diners had paid an exuberant amount for this cruise, so the food had to be prepared accordingly to match their expensive tastes.”
Chef Andreas got married recently and has a baby boy who turned three months old in September. While his wife is quite the globetrotter, given his son’s early stage of childhood, they were unable to travel with him to Sri Lanka this time. Chef also has a brother and a sister who are in the medical field.
Since his arrival in Sri Lanka, he has had the opportunity to travel about in Colombo and said: “The people are very hospitable, I love the climate and the beachfront view from the hotel is just beautiful. What I find more interesting is the tuk tuks on the road and hope that I could drive one during my stay. The traffic here is quite amusing compared to the methodical traffic in Germany,” Chef Andreas added, with a bemused smile.
Being a Chef, Andreas enjoys the variety of fruits and the Sri Lankan curries, especially the various ingredients used to prepare them. “There is a larger variety of fruits in Sri Lanka and it is interesting to try out new dishes wherever I work.”
Asked about his speciality and most favoured German dish, Chef Andreas stated it would be ‘rindsrouladen’ (beef roll ups) served along with red cabbage and potato dumplings.
Chef Andreas has been specially flown into Sri Lanka for ‘Oktoberfest’ and the ‘Faulty Towers Dining Experience’ and is housed at the legendary Mount Lavinia Hotel (MLH). MLH General Manager Bazeer Cassim believes that Chef Andreas will provide the best fare in the preparation of traditional German cuisine during this month.
