Paradise: From finance to flavour
Bringing Sri Lankan cooking to a new generation of diners
We spoke with Paradise founder, Dom Fernando about his growing, multi-continent restaurant operations, as well as what diners are really looking for.
Fresh from a press trip to Sri Lanka, Dom had been hosting and educating on the country’s emerging drinking culture — rooted in traditional toddy, but evolving through a new wave of bars and venues.
That perspective feeds directly into his next venture: a chef’s-table concept set to open there later this year. “It’s really exciting to be opening something like this,” he says. “It’s designed to tap into growing Indian interest in Sri Lanka as a holiday destination, so we’ve been building intrigue in places like Mumbai ahead of launch.”
So how did Dom get to this point; running an award-winning restaurant with a soon-to-be global footprint?
Not by following a conventional path. “I did what all good Asian sons do and followed in my father’s footsteps of being an accountant,” he says. “I quickly realised it wasn’t for me and eventually ended up in the brand team at InterContinental Hotels Group.”
That’s where his appetite for hospitality was first ignited.
What it takes to succeed with a restaurant like Paradise
A lot has changed in both Paradise and the restaurant business since 2018, when Dom and the team first opened. Covid context aside and fast forwarding to today, Dom says: “There really is no margin for error and service has to be exceptional when it comes to the type of experience we want diners to have with us and to ensure they come back, we know they need to really love it; from the design, the way they’re spoken to and of course, how delicious everything is.”
That’s no mean feat, but Dom has made some tweaks, created more agility and fine-tuned his approach to Paradise Soho which has resulted in fewer days of service, a leaner team and a focus on creating the best possible experience.
Apron is the invisible part of streamlining business finance
Paradise’s finance team, Prysm Financial, handles the business side, so Dom is free to plan and execute projects and manage his team. For Dom, it’s another form of essential fine-tuning to their workflows that he knows, from his accounting background, are time-consuming: “it’s a streamlining of usually-invisible, yet essential tasks. This way, I just have to click ‘approve’ on a long list of payments and its integration into the tools our finance team uses, like Xero, etc., making their jobs easier.”
“Five years ago, we’d have to be manually setting up all those payments and in all honesty, I don’t think there would be time for that at this exact point in Paradise’s business.”
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