Sri Lankan curry our pride - Felicia Sorenson:

Paradise on a plate

She churns out curry in such dramatic flavours that she literally turned tables in her favour. In turn she has been crowned the unrivalled ‘Curry Queen’ of Sri Lanka. She has gathered a multitude of connoisseurs from all four corners of the world who follow her like the pied piper, mesmerized by her deft hands that churn out heaven in a curry.

‘Sri Lankan curry is a good bit of paradise in every bite. When explored to extremes with an overdose of common sense, a dash of creativity and a generous serving of perfectionism, Sri Lankan curry has all the potential to drive tourism to sublime new heights’.

Felicia Sorenson

I believe her. Sri Lankan Tourism should take her word and act upon it. Nobody explores Sri Lankan curry to taste extremes or literally ‘hits the crest’ like her.

I walked in to a cozy Queen’s Court apartment, tastefully white, against the wide windows draped in sunlight that sparked at a Czechoslovakian crystal vase standing tall on the white mantle piece. An outsize crystal Cinderella shoe on the glass coffee table had an outpouring of white blossoms that complimented the white sofa, with white silk cushions against a white wall. A meticulously house proud perfectionist’s passion for white was stark and poetically evident.

Sikhamani Felicia Wakwella Sorenson stood a stunning contrast in punk pink. She knows how to stand out against any backdrop. Whether in Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii or Sri Lanka she has maintained her confident gait with a dash of flamboyance. Her immense contribution to glorify food in a new light put her in the limelight. There is no one in the world of cuisine and gourmet cooking who does not know Felicia.

She has had many awards and honours conferred on her. She was bestowed the revered title of Sikhamani in 1992 by the then President Ranasinghe Premadasa. She was the first and the only Sri Lankan Chef living in Hong Kong, to have received that honour. She thrived upon many exciting hotel career opportunities. She is also a qualified Dietitian.

She marketed Sri Lankan spice mixes overseas to her own recipe under the brand ‘Felicia’s Kitchen’. She authored ‘The Exotic Taste of Paradise’ a culinary masterpiece; the title positively inspired the then Air Lanka tag line. She still inspires Sri Lanka Tourism with her expertise.

‘Go for Curry to boost Sri Lanka’ she is firm on her belief. ‘Spice has been our principal draw. Merchants saw the prospect in it. Kings got tempted by it. Empires conquered us for it! Still, the world holds its fascination for our spices. So Sri Lanka Tourism should drive it’

We can’t ignore what she says because she knows; has a track record to prove it.

‘No academic qualifications. No hospitality training. Sheer gut feeling, intuition and God-given talent were all I needed to make a name in the art of gourmet-cooking. I would say paparazzi made me famous overnight. In Hong Kong they had curries from India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Macau, Philippines and other regional countries. But Sri Lankan curry was unheard of. So, I gave it, Sorensen style and it caught on. Besides I was a female chef with the ‘soft touch’. I only had to do the refining!’ She smiled. I could just imagine how bubbly she would have been 10 years ago.

‘When I landed in Hong Kong I was not a cookery expert. But I was living in a business hub in an oriental backdrop where feeding the gourmet palate was a big business in itself. I believed that Sri Lankan curry would be a hit here and demonstrated what I have learnt by doing, back home. It paid off instantly. Sri Lankan Curry was a big draw. It was new and tasted different. I made it authentic and cooked up my own style with spice and gravy. I was introduced to big names in business.

The media built up hype and I became a culinary celebrity overnight. I was in big demand. I made my fortune in Hong Kong and was crowned ‘Curry Queen’ in my favourite land of dreams,’ she reminisced.

I wondered what flavoured her life. ‘I had an exciting rollercoaster life there in HK’ she reminisced. ‘I am an optimist. When something bad happens to me I believed it could have been worse.

Of course I have a few dear friends. My favourite past time is travelling to see my closest relatives, two daughters, Sharon in France and Sandrina in USA and my grandchildren 14 year old Sasha and four year old Alecsandre. I spend some memorable days with them. But I always return to my comfort zone,’ a cozy apartment in Queen’s Court, fit for Sri Lanka’s one and only Curry Queen. I believe only one is born like her, once in a crimson moon.