Supreme effort helps talented chef taste success at festival

Winning the competition against 500 contestants, Diana's prize was to be flown to Australia to train at Noosa Beach House with renowned chef Peter Kuruvita.

Diana Melonika is the winner of Sri Lanka's Supreme Chef TV cooking competition. Winning the competition against 500 other contestants, Diana's prize was to be flown to Australia to spend a month training at Noosa Beach House with renowned chef Peter Kuruvita. Picture: Stephen

By Sunshine Coast Business Awards chair Jennifer Swaine

THIS weekend the Noosa Food and Wine Festival is taking place with all the glitz and glamour that goes hand in hand with this iconic event, set in one of the country's most beautiful locations.

And it's a world away from the impoverished life of one young lady from Sri Lanka.

Diana Melonika is the winner of Sri Lanka's Supreme Chef TV cooking competition.

It's akin to Masterchef, but the contestants are underprivileged youth and women of regional eastern Sri Lanka where there is little opportunity for jobs or training.

And it's a dream come true for Diana.

Winning the competition against 500 other contestants, Diana's prize was to be flown to Australia to spend a month training at Noosa Beach House with renowned chef Peter Kuruvita.

Diana has left behind her husband and two children and experienced her first plane trip.

It's also the first time she's been out of the country and the courage required to do this when English is not your first language must have been enormous.

Diana has pushed herself way beyond her comfort zone in order to provide for a better future for her family.

Her English is a long way from perfect, but she works as hard at getting it right as she does when applying herself in the kitchen.

Standing proudly behind her are Peter and Karen Kuruvita who have helped to make this dream come true for Diana, through an empowering mentoring and training program supported by the Australian Government's aid program.

The Australian Government's aid program Inclusive Growth has provided training and placement services to the 600 plus that auditioned for the competition and the final 20 are all doing high-level training in cooking and will be placed in quality hotels and restaurants.

Being Sri Lankan born himself, Peter spends a lot of time in the country highlighting the culinary delights to be found there.

He is now giving back by being a part of this program, providing opportunities that otherwise simply wouldn't exist.

The staff at Noosa Beach House have welcomed Diana with open arms and made her feel a part of the team.

She is working alongside Peter this weekend during the festival and is hoping to meet other chefs including Matt Preston from her favourite show Masterchef.

When we are in a position to collaborate and give back it's a beautiful thing.

Providing opportunities for others to grow and shine is the sign of a true leader and everyone involved in this program should be congratulated.

Be sure to pop by and say hi to Diana and Peter if you are heading to Noosa this weekend.

Originally published as Supreme effort helps talented chef taste success at festival