A chef with a vision: Shehan’s unique concept for Shoulders By Harpo restaurant

Shoulders by Harpos, the cocktail bar and restaurant was designed to create a unique and exciting new experience but also with a hint of familiarity that is irresistible to its guests. Since its inception a few weeks ago, Shoulders has captivated the attention of numerous guests with its Greek-inspired menu. Located at the Havelock City Mall, the restaurant is a partnership between Harpos Cafés and Restaurants and chef Shehan Setunga. 

Setunga is a Sri Lankan-born Aussie chef, recognised in the hospitality industry for his innovative cuisine and passion for inspiring people through his dishes. In this interview, he discusses the journey of creating the Shoulders restaurant menu, his unique approach to running a restaurant and the importance of utilising Sri Lankan flavours to modernise its culinary scene.

Following are excerpts:

By Divya Thotawatte 

Q: From showcasing culinary expertise in Melbourne to deciding to open a restaurant in Sri Lanka, can you share the story behind your culinary journey?

I have been a chef in Melbourne for the past 10-12 years. I was born and raised in Sri Lanka and then got an opportunity to go to Australia and build a career for myself. I worked with many good chefs who are at the top of the game in Melbourne, one of them being George Calombaris who was a judge of MasterChef Australia and was my mentor and a close friend now. I started my culinary journey there in 2015 and became a head chef at one of his restaurants. Thereafter, I went to places that are better and kept going. 

My main focus now is bringing back things to Sri Lanka so that I can give back to our community and try to inspire and train people. Shoulders is my new project here. It’s owned by Harpo Gunaratne and it was his idea. We have formed a partnership and opened this place, a cocktail bar and restaurant. The restaurant is my area of expertise where we’ve put together a Greek-inspired menu. 

We launched it on 27 November and lots of people have been coming in and we have received great feedback on the food, services and drinks as well. So it’s a new and exciting concept. I don’t think you get to see much Greek-inspired food in Sri Lanka. That is my journey right now and it’s the start for many things to come. 

Q:  What inspired you to bring Greek-inspired cuisine to Sri Lanka and how do you plan to incorporate local flavours into your dishes?

When I was working for George Calombaris and when we toured here, he said I should come back here and start things in Sri Lanka because we do have a need for great chefs to come back and train people, sharing knowledge from other countries. Sri Lanka has a long way to go when it comes to restaurants, bars and even nightclubs. There is a tremendous need for things to open up here. 

We have a lot of Greek restaurants in Melbourne and I have worked in quite a few of them. I wanted to bring it here as an interesting concept but also change things a bit to suit the Sri Lankan palate. When the opportunity came, I thought doing Greek would be best because that is what I have been cooking during most of my culinary experience. 

It is not the only style I focus on, but when I came here, I wanted to incorporate Sri Lankan flavours into the dishes, which is easy because I am a Sri Lankan. For example, we have this Saganaki cheese that we do with apricot chutney. Like that, most dishes would have some sort of Sri Lankan flavour or Sri Lankan ingredient tied to it. 

I always make sure that we use locally-sourced ingredients because when we do that, the cash stays in the country. During times like this or the times we were going through last year, it’s important to focus on what is available in the country and start developing on those products. 

This is Greek-inspired cuisine because if I was doing a traditional Greek menu, it would be challenging. Our tastes are quite different. Maybe you will come to the restaurant and try it, but I don’t think you will come back again. Or you might come back after a few months. Right now, with what I have created, I want people to come back even the following week. This is the first place I have been where people have been coming back and forth. There are people who have had dinner and come back the next day. As a chef that is very rewarding because it is extremely rare. 

Q:  Having earned recognition in the hospitality industry, what lessons or experiences shaped your approach to cooking and running a restaurant? 

I have always been part of restaurants that are already open and that has given me much experience when I had to open our own place. I think it is important for chefs to work in a pre-opened restaurant and going through that process is quite challenging but also rewarding. It gives you the experience that other chefs or cooks do not get. I have been telling my staff that they are lucky and I too am lucky to be part of the propelling and get to see how the place goes from nothing to what it can be. 

Again, going to Australia and working at good restaurants has given me the opportunity to come back to Sri Lanka and start teaching people and inspiring them, which is exactly what I wish to do. It has always been my plan. More than money or any other thing, I genuinely want to teach people because I feel I can teach really well. I can teach people to take over places, run places and give them responsibilities and trust them. 

The reason I wanted to come back and do this is because I know there are people who are less fortunate and don’t get the opportunity to travel to places. They shouldn’t have to. If you want to be a good chef, you shouldn’t have to leave your country. But because our system and restaurants are not in that stage yet, many people go abroad to get themselves educated. 

Q: Could you describe a standout moment in your career that has significantly impacted your philosophy? 

There are a few and if I name one, maybe a year ago, I was working at a place called Tulum, rated as one of the best restaurants in Melbourne. I was working with Coskun Uysal who inspired me to modernise Sri Lankan food. He’s a Turk who modernises Turkish food and this inspired me to modernise Sri Lankan food. I wanted to start it and did a few pop ups, so that one day in Melbourne, I can open a modern Sri Lankan restaurant. I don’t think there are many around the world doing that and I wished to be one of those who create and innovate things for Sri Lanka. 

So whatever I do, we have some kind of reference to our country. It is up to us to do things for Sri Lanka and lift our game so that we have tourists coming in, and we have good places for tourists to eat and good places for locals as well. It has to be not just in Colombo, but across the country. 

Q:  What dishes in the Shoulders menu are you most excited about?

 I have created the entire menu, and I need to be excited about everything. That’s how I have created it, for every single dish to stand out. I can’t really say that one is better than the other, but through the feedback there are a few dishes that stand out from the rest of them. 

We have Taramasalata, I keep telling this to people, it’s my favourite ingredient in the whole world. It is cod roe that has been cured in salt and sugar. It is only made in Greece, so that it is one of the very few ingredients that we bring down. We whip it with lemon juice and onion bread and it becomes the dip in which people can dip their pita bread. It has been a standout and many people love the taste. Also, the flaming Saganaki cheese with apricot chutney that I spoke about earlier. When guests are served, it’s in flames basically. Our 12-hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder has been a hit as well. I serve it with arrack and jaggery sauce.

We have some really interesting desserts too. Everyone has their favourite dishes here so it is hard to say what is great and what is not. We had a person who disliked lamb ever since he was a kid but when I got him to try ours, he came in again the next day to try the lamb shoulder. If one has not eaten lamb ever since childhood, and if this dish has made him eat and like lamb, then as a chef I have done my job well. For me also, it is about pushing through people’s boundaries a little bit and if they are willing, to take them through this journey. The moment people say they don’t like fish, for example, I want them to taste what we have and see if they like it. Most of the time, it works. They expand and transform their palate and that is very rewarding. 

Q: In what way do you plan to engage with the local community and promote a sense of connection through this restaurant? 

We want Shoulders to be an everyday kind of place. When you finish work for the day or had a long week or a long day, we want you to come here and have a drink. If you don’t drink, you can have a snack. Especially, for the residents in Havelock City, we want this to be their everyday place. 

We are turning the outside area into a beer garden. They come here to unwind and relax, and because they want good food, it is up to us to maintain the standards. Also, our ambiance helps. You can see that the interior in our restaurant is quite unique. 

Our staff members are friendly and welcoming. I wish to emphasise that our team has been brilliant. We have a group of young chefs and young front-of-house staff. They have all come together and now they are the ones running this place. It is not mine, nor is it Harpo’s, it is theirs and they have taken on the challenge and are performing really well. So I want customers and guests to experience their work to give them the recognition and the respect they deserve. As Sri Lankans, we need to embrace our people. 

Pix by Upul Abayasekara