[Lecturer in Charge - Food and Beverage Service]
Eraj Abeywardena holds a Bachelor of Catering Degree obtained at the University College of Hotel Management and Catering in Budapest , Hungary . After obtaining his degree, he worked in some of the leading hotels in Hungary before returning to Sri Lanka in 1976. He then joined the Lanka Oberoi (now the Cinnamon Grand) in the Food and Beverage Department and became the first Sri Lankan Food and Beverage Manager. He has traveled widely with the Lanka Oberoi's Food and Beverage Team to promote the Hotel, Sri Lankan cuisine and culture in Hungary , Poland , Austria , China , Taiwan , Hong Kong , Thailand , Singapore and India . Eraj gained promotion to Executive Assistant Manager at the Lanka Oberoi and remained there until he retired from service in July 2004. During this time, he had exposure in the Oberoi Group of Hotels at the Oberoi Sheraton in Bombay , the Oberoi Inter-Continental in New Delhi and the Oberoi Imperial in Singapore .
While at the Lanka Oberoi, in addition to his normal schedule of work, Eraj was responsible for the co-ordination of the expansion programme of the Hotel and Crescat Development Project, and saw the completion of the Project successfully.
With over 32 years of experience in the Hospitality industry, Eraj is a specialist in Food and Beverage and in training and has been able to use his valuable experience overseas in 5 star hotels to benefit the hospitality business in Sri Lanka. He is a past President of the Colombo City Tourist Hotels Association, former Board Member of the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and is a Committee Member of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Hotels Classification Committee for the past 6 years. He is a past Chairman of the HCIMA (UK) Sri Lanka International Group and he is also a Fellow of the Hotel Catering International Management Association, UK .
Since his retirement in July 2004, he has been involved in doing consultation for the industry and has given his expertise and advice on a project in Jaffna , Puttalam and Nuwara-Eliya. He also conducts training sessions for hotels and is a member of the academic staff of Win-Stone School of Culinary Art (Pvt.) Ltd.