Sinnaththurai Jeyakumar I first met Sinnaththurai Jeyakumar in 2020 at a particularly good dinner in Jetwing Jaffna’s elegant restaurant. We had eaten well, enjoyed a bottle of wine, and were feeling good. As we thanked our waiter, he asked if we would like to meet the chef.
A moment later there he was. Smart, enthusiastic, with a bright engaging smile topped off by a chef’s hat, Sinnaththurai Jeyakumar came out from the kitchen to meet us. Jeyakumar was the chef responsible for cooking and plating our dinners. Strictly speaking Jeyakumar was the Second Commis Chef who under normal circumstances would be guided by the First Commis Chef instructed by the Chef de Partie reporting to the Sous Chef under the direction of The Chef in Jaffna following the culinary strategies of the Executive Chef in Colombo. But in 2020, after two hard knocks to the tourism industry with the 2019 Easter Bombing and the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, these chains of command had some missing links as the cash
By Jekhan Aruliah
An appreciation on the retirement of a man who fled Sri
Lanka’s communal riots in 1984 to settle in Australia, and returned three
decades later in 2015 to setup Jaffna’s first luxury hotel. Devoting five years
of his life as the hands-on General Manager of Jetwing Jaffna.
Chris Ponnadurai
Chris was born in Colombo in 1951, the seventh of eight children. His father was a school inspector, who moved the family often as he was transferred around the country. Spending his early life in Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Ratnapura, Chris’ family then moved to Colombo where he finished his school career at the prestigious Isipathana College. From there he joined the Ceylon Hotel School.