Bangkok--26 Dec--Centara Hotels & Resorts
The entire kitchen staff of Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa Sri Lanka, totalling 20 chefs, got together on 11 November for the traditional Christmas cake mixing ceremony, with guests also joining in with enthusiasm.
The occasion was led by executive chef Meththa Ekanayake and Ranga Dias, managing director of Sun Tan Beach Resorts (Pvt) Ltd, the owning company of the resort.
Along with the traditional Christmas cake and Christmas pudding the mix goes to make up other seasonal goodies including stollen, brudher, and of course the traditional ginger house.
The 20 chefs prepared mixes from a huge stock of ingredients including almonds, mock cherries, black currants, raisins, sultanas, cashew nuts, candied peels, preserved ginger, pumpkin, dates, brandy and red wine.
“This is a traditional event in Sri Lanka to mark the spirit of togetherness at this auspicious time of year,” says Alexandre Glauser, general manager of Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa. “Marination of the various ingredients has to be done at least one month prior to Christmas for a better taste.
“Guests were invited to join this event, pouring the liquor and mixing the ingredients with all the chefs and management team. All were very happy to do be part of this celebration. It was a grand start to the festive season!”
Centara Passikudah Resort & Spa Sri Lanka is set next to the beach at Passikudah Bay, a long stretch of coastline renowned for its calm and shallow waters, ideal for swimming and water sports. The outer bay has an extensive coral reef and there are scattered coral communities within the bay, together forming one of the best-known reef systems in the Indian Ocean.
Centara Hotels & Resorts is Thailand’s leading operator of hotels, with 47 deluxe and first-class properties covering all the major tourist destinations in the Kingdom. A further 18 resorts in the Maldives, Vietnam, Shanghai, Bali Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius Indian Ocean, Ethiopia brings the present total to 65 properties. Brands and properties within Centara ensure that specific categories such as couples, families, individuals, and meetings and incentives groups will all find a hotel or resort that is appropriate to their needs. Centara operates 27 branches of Spa Cenvaree, one of Thailand’s most luxurious and innovative spa brands, together with its newly launched value brand Cense by Spa Cenvaree, which provides core spa services for busy travellers. The company’s Kids’ Club is available at all the family-friendly resorts to ensure that the youngsters and teens are taken care of. Centara Hotels & Resorts also operates three state-of-the-art convention centres in Bangkok, and two in northeastern Thailand, one being located in Udon Thani and the other in Khon Kaen. The latest Centara brand is named COSI Hotels, an economy brand designed for travellers who predominantly make their bookings via the internet and who want comfort and convenience at the most friendly prices available, which is under development with the first property due to open in 2016.