
Chef Gisela Alesbrook is the driving force behind Hotal Colombo, our Sri Lankan restaurant where crabs are the star of the show. But to us, she’s just Chef Gizzy.
Hailing from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, Chef Gizzy has been a part of Black Sheep since the very beginning, becoming our second-ever team member all the way back in 2012, and has continued to thrive with us every step of the way.
Now running her own kitchen at Hotal Colombo, she has made it her mission to introduce the flavours of her homeland to Hong Kong — a city where Sri Lankan food is still vastly underrepresented.
What defines Sri Lankan cuisine for Chef Gizzy is an emphasis on seafood, fragrant spices and speed of preparation. Rich aromas greet you from the moment you enter Hotal Colombo, drawing you into her world of rice, pickles, chutneys, curries and, of course, crab.
With her love of cooking and looking after her community of regular guests, Chef Gizzy continues to make Hotal Colombo a place where every meal feels like coming home.
With PLATED Summer Series now offering an early week taste of Sri Lankan Summer Catch, Chef Gizzy offers a glimpse into her typical daily routine in this “Day In The Life” diary.
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7:30am: I wake up to my dogs staring at me, waiting for breakfast. I get myself a cup of tea and check my emails while they chow down.
8:30am: I quickly clean the apartment and get dressed. I have t-shirts in about 20 shades of black, as that’s what I wear most of the time.
9:30am: I take my dogs for a walk. I have two: Pickle, who is a pug, and Andy, a chihuahua mix. It takes a while since they both have different walking speeds.
10:30am: I head to work; my playlist gets me in the mood. On the way, I usually drop by the Indian store on Caine Road to pick up fresh curry leaves. I also visit my favorite fried dumpling shop. The lady there doesn’t speak much English, and I don’t speak Chinese, but we understand each other perfectly. She gives me my fried dumplings with chili oil and soy sauce. This serves as a late breakfast for me.
11:15am: I’m usually the first one at work. I get all my stuff inside and head up to my prep kitchen to start on my sambals. I like working alone in the morning; it’s peaceful and I have the kitchen to myself. The only distraction is the construction noise next door. Since it’s Monday, it’s usually slower than other days, so this is when I make sauces and sambals for the week.
2pm: My team comes in and I get to wander out to the wet market. Most of the time, my fish guy has some fresh salmon that I can pick, along with some vegetables for my collaborative ideas.
3pm: For the staff meal, we usually go to the Team Canteen. However, a couple of times a week, we make it in-house. Today, we have fried fish from my wet market visit and some dhal and stir-fried greens (most of my team doesn’t like veggies).
4:30pm: We get ready for service. This is when I need my sugar fix — otherwise, I’ll go a bit loopy. There are a couple of places I go to: Bakehouse for the chocolate doughnut, Vission for the New York cheesecake, or Butter for the chocolate chip cookies. When I get desperate, it’s 7-Eleven for Oreos.
5:15pm: Time for briefing and introducing new dishes to the team. We give background stories behind each as we like our team to have fun with the food and enjoy explaining it to the guests.
6pm: This is the service period, which is fun, maddening and crazy!
9:30pm: When service starts to slow down, we take stock and see what needs to be ordered for the next day. I make my list upstairs, chat with a few guests, and then it’s shots time with the team before they leave. I have a rough wrap-up with the floor team to discuss any negative feedback or things we could have done better.
11:00pm: I head home to my fur babies. The day wraps with a glass of wine and a walk with the dogs. I probably get to bed around 2am and that’s it!
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Craving more? Read more ‘Day In The Life’ stories here and here to find out what our teams do to make that Black Sheep magic happen every day.
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