‘Raffles’ : Serving delightful food for 17 Years
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Renowned for their excellent food and friendly efficient service, ‘Raffles Catering’ celebrates yet another anniversary being their 17th on 1st December 2016.Launched on December 1, 1999 as a partnership between two of the best friends namely, Tony Bohoran and Oscar Wanigasekera, Raffles has come a long way to be a true market leader in Catering and Hospitality business in Sri Lanka.
Having a humble beginning with two employees, Raffles began with home catering services to a discerning and up-market clientele. In September 2001, they ventured into industrial catering by securing contracts to operate in some of the reputed garment factories in the country. Today, Raffles cater to more than 17,000 employees on a daily basis with breakfast, lunch and dinner in 09 factories in different parts of the country, in the industrial sector.
To cap the glory of being in business for 17 years, they launched their brand new Banquet and Catering facility named ‘Raffles Residence’ on 1st February this year. The premises itself has two beautifully designed function halls which can easily host 100 – 600 persons for any event be it a corporate or a private function. The beauty of their Grand Ballroom is that it has no pillars and has a height of 22 feet, adorned by large Chrystal chandeliers. Furthermore, Raffles Residence was awarded the all-important ‘ISO 9001:2015’ certification being one of the very few such facilities to obtain same.
Headed by the Master Chef Tony Bohoran as Managing Director, who counts more than 34 years of experience in the food & beverage trade locally and internationally, it is no wonder that Raffles has been able to keep their culinary flag flying over the years.
Explaining his journey into the culinary field, Tony said that it was his Mom who is an excellent cook, inspired him to be what he is today.
Tony Bohoran
Tony is also a pioneer in introducing fusion food to Sri Lanka way back in 1991 when he was the Executive Chef at Don Stanley’s Restaurant in Colombo. Later, Tony went on to join Paradise Road – Gallery Café as the Executive Chef and decided to quit in 1999 to start on his own.
Ably assisted by his colleagues Oscar, Mohan and Shan who are also directors of the company, Raffles has more than 370 employees directly employed under Raffles Consolidated Pvt. Ltd., which is the mother company.
Today the company caters to the elite in Colombo, which includes top corporates, banks, diplomatic missions, NGOs and semi government institutions.
In order to succeed in the field of food & beverage services, one has to keep up with the changing palate of the consumer and cater to their particular needs. Speaking about the culinary trends at present, Tony observed, ‘There is a marked transformation of the gourmet cuisine towards new world cuisine. While gourmet cuisine is strict and meticulous in its preparation and presentation, new world cuisine is a fusion of the eastern, western and Mediterranean flavours and arrangements.’
Recognising this trend, the Raffles specialises and has invented many of its ever-popular fusion dishes.
The company is looking at several new ventures, one of which is a Luxury Boutique hotel in the hills of Kitulgala and also extending their operations to the European continent as well.
Pix by Ranjith Perera