Aravinda Leelarathna, born and raised in Colombo, is an accomplished pastry chef in UAE. For more than a decade in hospitality industry, he achieved a lot more than what he had expected. In 2009, at the age of 23, he moves to UAE. Initially, he turned down the offer because of uncertainty, but eventually chose to take a leap of faith in his career.  He started as a commis chef in pastry department at Le Meridien Airport Hotel. The first few days were challenging; however, it didn’t stop him from learning. Driven with perseverance and discipline, he climbed up the ladder of success. He decided to join local culinary competitions and won several gold and silver medals. He became a senior member of UAE culinary team and participated as a jury to several local competitions.