Farewell Ralf and welcome UdoMount Lavinia Hotel bids a fond farewell to Director Kitchens Ralf Vogt and extends a warm welcome to yet another German Chef. Udo Gross is his name.

Chef Udo takes over the kitchens to continue to produce the culinary masterpieces that have become synonymous with Mount Lavinia Hotel over the last decade.

Udo was born in the quiet countryside near Frankfurt in Germany. He apprenticed in a well known family Hotel where the owner was very much from the old school. He then went on to serve in the military for 2 years as corporal only to return to hoteliering.

He spent 4 years in Switzerland honing his skills and absorbing the high standards of Switzerland.

He went onto Southern Sun Hotel in South Africa where he also learnt English. He traveled onto Syria and joined Sheraton as sous chef.

He was the youngest Executive Chef in the Sheraton chain at 28 years old in Abu Dhabi. The Hotel boasts large state banquets, and a very popular seafood dinner, well known in the region. Chef Udo’s record of 623 covers in one night still stands. Here he received 2 presidential awards during his 5 years of service.

Soon after, he moved to Brisbane Sheraton, Australia for 2 years and received yet another Presidential award. Udo felt homesick thereafter and returned to Germany. 5 years later, he once again joined the Sheraton in Yemen. His move to Bahrain Gulf Hotel thereafter for almost 6 years was a highlight in his career. He managed large banquets, 9 restaurants, outdoor catering etc. He then moved onto very similar Sheraton Doha for 2 years again with large banquets, 5 restaurants etc. His next destination was Egypt as corporate chef to transmit his experience to a local company.

Next stop was Pakistan and Avari Hotels, setting Standards in hygiene and service and training the local staff in continental cuisine.

He believes in the old German saying ‘’the guest is the king’’ and his hobbies are reading, chess and swimming.
He likes to focus on solutions and not problems. He considers himself easygoing, flexible and fair.

He helped bring Bahrain October fest from 400 covers to finally 1200, the best and biggest in the Middle East. Udo also lays claim to cooking the biggest rice dish in the world in Bahrain (12.5 ton).

Udo is married to a Sri Lankan lady - a pastry chef who has worked overseas for 17 years.

Chef Udo is proud to be associated with the legendary Mount Lavinia Hotel and pledges to continue and fine tune the high standards and the delectable cuisine that is synonymous with the Mount Lavinia Hotel counting over 200 historical years of experience.
| Culinary | Recipe of the Month |

Culinary Page is the place where you can view a variety of Menus offered by Mount Lavinia Hotel. Our philosophy at Mount Lavinia Hotel is to provide the very highest standards for our guests, and no more so than in the quality of our cuisine. The emphasis is on elegant, contemporary European food combined with elements of the freshest local Sri Lankan ingredients, in a range of innovative dishes from our accomplished kitchen team under Executive Chef Udo.