Sri Lanka’s ‘Brown Brothers’ make waves in Canberra

Six Sri Lankans hold key positions in the Canberra Institute of Technology, with Jerome de Rose as Deputy Dean. Joining Jerome de Rose are four formidable others - Rohan Dias Abeysinghe, Rohan de Silva Jayasundere, Schani Weerasinha and Shantha Nanayakkara, forming a quintet popularly known and referred to as the 'Brown Brothers'.

Jerome is the son of Charlie & Philomena de Rose. The De Rose family own the famous drapery, haberdashery and tailoring establishment, J. L. Carwallio, in Main Street, Pettah. Jerome is married to attractive Josephine Corera, the daughter of Joe Corera who was the boss of Corera Bros., the famous ship chandlers. Their daughter Jackie is a good-looking, younggraduate who is planning to enter the Institute of Food & Catering to commence a similar future.

Rohan Dias Abeysinghe became the first Principal of the Ceylon Hotel School and guided the affairs of the establishment with tremendous success, until he decided to seek greener pastures in Australia. He joined the Institute of Food Technology and teamed up with the others to form a formidable team.

Jerome de Rose and Schani Weerasinha work and lecture in the Faculty of Food & Beverage in the Canberra Institute. Rohan Dias Abeysinghe was deeply involved in preparing the banquet for Queen Elizabeth. Rohan de Silva Abeysinghe has been training staff for the Governor General's establishment and supervising the service. He was invited to operate a Hospitality School in Cooks Island and Jerome de Rose was invited to set up a Hospitality Training School in Malaysia.

Shantha Nanayakkara is equally accomplished and has handled many receptions for dignitaries. The Brown Brothers train students in all aspects of hospitality, including bar, cellar and restaurant service, apart from their separate assignments of improving the skills of management. They are quite often invited to make overseas visits to assist institutes in Food & Beverage management.

Joining the quintet in the hospitality industry is Dammika Hatharasinghe, a regular lecturer who started his career at the Ceylon Inter.Continental and then moved to the Taj Mahal in New Delhi. He then picked an assignment at the Sheraton in Perth, West Australia. Lakeside International, Canberra, called him next and then came the assignment of handling food & beverage service at Parliament House.

Hatharasinghe and the Brown Brothers are well known and popular personalities whose expertise in the culinary arts is well recognised.