Marking yet another milestone in its journey, Sponge Pastry shop will celebrate 27 years of service in October. Having begun as a small-scale business in a garage at Deanstone Place, Colpetty, Sponge has come a long way since then. Akantha Pandithasekera, Founder and Managing Director of Sponge started out his career at the Ceylon Intercontinental and went on to become the first Sri Lankan Pastry Chef there, taking over from a line of French Chefs. He counts 37 years of experience as a Pastry Chef. His wife Aloma Pandithasekera, Chairperson of Sponge is an award winning cake decorator and a good cook. Their two sons are now Directors of Sponge. The eldest Asanka Pandithasekera who follows a career in Patisserie is currently a lecturer in a Hotel School in Australia, while his brother Dilshan Pandithasekera is a Photographer (specialising in food photography) as well as a IT professional whose expertise is valuable to Sponge’s day to day activities.
In the wake of the 27th anniversary Sponge is going through an expansion and a refurbishment process. Speaking about the journey Akantha Pandithasekera said, “we started out in a garage that belonged to Mrs Osmond and in consideration to her religion we served halal food. We still continue that trend.” He added that, “most of our staff has been with us for over 15 years and they represent numerous ethnicities making Sponge a culturally diverse place.”
Today, Sponge serves over 100 covers for lunch menu and Sponge cakes, pastries and savouries including chocolate mousse, almond crunch, cheese cake, seafood pies, fish cutlets and almond milk have become sought after goodies. Speaking about his success Akantha Pandithasekera said that perseverance and team effort as a family were the essential fuel to succeeding. He credits his wife whose cakes delight customers.
