the busiest man at Hilton Trinidad

It took me two tries to get an interview with Anura Devapura, Trinidad Hilton’s Director of Food and Beverage operations.

My first attempts saw him in the throes of preparations for the upcoming Indian Food Festival which takes place from May 30th to June 6th. A series of meetings, followed by inventory checks, staff updates, beverage checks... “Could you come see me tomorrow?” he said in a lilting Sri Lankan accent. Day two, and there were yet more meetings, but he was ready. “The minute I walk in the door, work begins,” he said, taking occasional puffs from a Benson and Hedges cigarette. “From 8 am, it is a lot of meetings. I meet with the General Manager and discuss the day-to-day operational issues and so, then I meet with my department heads (individually on Thursday). “We talk about planning events and operational issues. Holiday events like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day,  and even this upcoming Indian food festival are planned by me and my staff. It is a great team effort on all our parts. I look at myself as being on the bottom, you know? My staff are really the ones who make it happen, I just guide them. They make the magic happen.”

The Food and Beverage department has almost  245 staff  members in all, with 12 department heads that report to Devapura, plus other managers. His routine entails many discussions that take place constantly, besides his meetings with the department heads to discuss issues, occurrences, menu planning with the chefs, beverage planning, checking inventory... plus, Devapura must be able to do all this within a budget. “Though I have my hotel guests, I also focus on the local community, that is why I like to do these kinds of events, to have them come and patronise the hotel. Obviously the nature of the business is demanding and it’s ongoing, 24 hrs. There is so much happening.” So far, Devapura has been in Trinidad for only two years, but for him it’s just like being at home. He keeps close ties with his parents, faithfully calling them in Sri Lanka each week and going home to spend his vacation with them each year. His career path could have led him in another direction (more on that later) but presently he is on a path to love. After all, Trinidad is a beautiful land filled with beautiful women... right?

(Smiling broadly) “Getting engaged here was one of the best things that happened to me,” he enthused. “Well, she is not Trinidadian, but she works in this country. She is in the business, so we have that in common. It was also because of her that I didn’t meet my parents for my yearly vacation this year. I was in Prague meeting her parents instead!” He gave a cheeky smile. He knows he has come a long way since his childhood. Sinhalese born, he was a student of the Isipathana College in Colombo. At age 18 he left home to seek a new career path in the hotel industry. But as a college student, he was playing cricket. “Who knows, I could have been part of the touring team that is coming to Trinidad soon,” he laughed. “I played club cricket for Sri Lanka when I was 16. I thought I would play fully for them, but in my time there was no test status or any money involved. So I gave it up to go to the hotel business. When I was finishing my education, it was then Sri Lanka got test status, so now they are paid professionals. There are men I played with who are umpiring... so I must feel at home here.  cricket is one of my passions. The sport is almost like a religion over in Sri Lanka.” But getting into the hotel business however was no easy task, especially from a financial standpoint. “Ah, my mother and father just could not afford... we were not rich.” His tone was solemn.

“My father was in the navy and I am the eldest from a family of six. I saved to educate myself, you know. I had attended the Isipathana College in Colombo, that’s the capital of Sri Lanka. From there I went off to the UK at 18 to get my degree in International Hotel Management at the University of Manchester (that was my First Class Honours degree in Hotel Management). Then I also got a higher Diploma in Catering and Hotel Management from the Lausanne Hotel School in Switzerland. I started as an Executive chef at one of the well-known hotels in Europe, you can say I was one of the only ‘odd ones’, and I had to constantly prove that I was 100 times better than they were. Then I worked at other hotels in Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Australia. After that, I went into Food and Beverage.” Devapura has worked in over 14 countries before his current post to Trinidad and Tobago. He is happiest here, he admitted. Now 42, the take charge Leo strives to keep things running smoothly at the Hilton. He is all for peace, in more ways than one, and he cited that his travels as a student and as a Food and Beverage Director have taught him a lot. His many travels have given him an advantage, in that his continual exposure to so many cultures has made him more appreciative of cultures, colours and religions. Trinidad, he says, is a fitting example of this cultural diversity and harmony. “It is sad when people cannot live together because of certain issues from the past,” he began.

“The Tamils and the Sinhalese in my country had been at war for years, but things have been quiet now for the past year. I’m very optimistic that they will sort out their differences and I have heard that there have been negotiations. Now, I am Sinhalese. My sister is married to a Tamil, and it was an issue for my parents. I actually had to step in for my sister and tell my parents that they are in love, and they should marry. It took them a while for them to be open to it because of the tensions on both sides. Now I am all for racial diversity. Colour should not matter when someone is in love with another. Trinidad, I think, is a great example of this, for there is beautiful harmony and diversity here. Other countries can learn from you. “I have gone through a lot of cultures, I believe that that is my strength, being able to understand culture and diversity. To being able to deal with different cultures, people and their different ways of thinking, that’s one of the strengths. If  I  move from here to go somewhere else, I  should be able to understand the people, explain to them what we need to do, what our goals and objectives of the organisation are. That’s the plus of travelling, with respect to cultures in a management aspect within the new world. It’s not always what you know, but how you handle people. At the end of the day, one person cannot do it all. It’s like my work. I may have a lot of knowledge, but that is not enough. You must also have people skills.”