SUNDRE — Variety, as the saying goes, is the spice of life.
And with the opening of Boondox Family Restaurant for take-out for now, Sundre has gotten a little bit spicier.
Originally from Sri Lanka, the establishment's owner, Ravi Vithanage, arrived in Canada in 2008.
“I was actually working in Sundre when I first came here as a foreign worker,” said Vithanage, adding he was employed as a cook at the former Trendies restaurant, which has since been rebranded as Original T’s Family Restaurant.
“Sundre’s been one of my favourite towns since I came to Canada. I always wanted to go (back) there,” he said
The 41-year-old sought to find opportunities that would enable him to create a better life for his family that simply weren’t available in Sri Lanka, which meant setting his sights abroad.
“I just wanted to get out of the country, help my family,” he said.
Growing up without a father as the eldest of four children who endured financial duress, life was a daily struggle.
“We were in a very hard position,” he said.
“We couldn’t make good money in Sri Lanka.”
Since his mother was unable to afford a higher education at university-level studies, he said his only option was to pursue the culinary arts upon graduating from high school, which paved the path to where he finds himself today.
After successfully completing a four-year culinary program in Sri Lanka, he immediately began building up his repertoire of experience as a cook in a number of luxury hotels over a period of about seven or eight years before eventually embarking on his journey to Canada.
“In Sri Lanka, once you finish your culinary school, they send you to five star hotels to work, because that’s where you learn,” he said.
“I did my Red Seal when I came to Canada because they didn’t recognize my qualifications from Sri Lanka. So, I had to convert all my paperwork to do Red Seal here in Canada to be qualified as a chef.”
That process largely involved completing a knowledge test, which with his extensive experience he was able to pass without problem.
Before eventually opening a restaurant in Carstairs, which he has since decided to sell in order to relocate to Sundre, Vithanage said he had also previously worked for Delta Hotel in Calgary.
Asked what most inspires him about being a chef, he said, “Everything. I enjoy learning a lot of new things and cooking, and enjoy meeting a lot of new people — always.”
As for his decision to open a new eatery during an ongoing global health crisis that does not have an immediate end in sight, he confessed harbouring some concerns about the pandemic, but added life must go on.
“You know, we cannot just wait and see when things are going to be back to normal.”
He hopes the new restaurant will provide an additional option to tempt people’s palates without having to go far to experience something different.
The menu features Sri Lankan, Indian and Thai recipes, “things that you don’t find in Sundre,” he said.
“I like to bring a different experience from what they are having right now in town,” he said.
“You don’t have to drive to Calgary to try those.”
