--- airs weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm and 10.30pm, or stream it free on . Catch Suren in the stolen goods, aftershow, chopsticks or fork, and date night dish . ---
started off his career as an accountant, but now he's a seasoned stand-up comedian. Jayemanne's first solo show in 2015 was inspired by his unique experiences as a child with severe food allergies. Since growing out of these allergies he's discovered a love of food, and why so many comedians enjoy cooking.
This has become clear to him because "both cooking and comedy are only complete when there's someone else to share it with." He has fond childhood memories of nightly TV dinners, enjoyed in the company of his immediate family.
Mealtimes followed a consistent routine, starting with soy sauce chicken on a Monday, bolognese on a Tuesday, and curry on a Wednesday. These reliable recipes avoided all the ingredients Suren was allergic or intolerant to, including shellfish, eggs, peanuts, sesame, dairy and wheat.
Suren Jayemanne prepares to cook crab curry. Source: Supplied
BEETROOT CURRY RECIPE
Sri Lankan beetroot curry
All meals, including bolognese, were eaten with a bowl of rice. This was not only because Jayemanne had a wheat allergy but because rice is a staple in Sri Lankan cuisine.
"We were very much raised as Aussie kids and didn't have a lot of cultural exposure, but food was definitely the biggest gateway to that," Jayemanne reflects. "As I've gotten older and started to become more interested in my [Sri Lankan] background, food has paved the way and it's been a little key to discovering more about that cultural background."
Jayemanne has loved making people laugh from a young age. Making funny comments has also been a way to contribute to family dinner-time conversations, which have generally been about politics.
It took a commerce degree and three years working as an accountant for him to turn this passion into a career. Around the same time, Jayemanne discovered that he could eat food that he'd previously been allergic to. This started his fascination with cooking and he turned this newfound passion into a series of comedy skits on Instagram, sharing recipes for Sri Lankan prawn curry, and sambal fish.
Jayemanne spent time perfecting these recipes during the COVID-19 pandemic and now understands why so many comedians love to cook.
"There is a similar creative aspect to writing and cooking because the only way you get better at it is by doing it over and over again," he explains. "A lot of comedians really enjoy cooking and I wonder if that aspect of getting feedback and tweaking it, learning from it, and improving the craft of it is what appeals."
SUREN JAYEMANNE RECIPE
Thai chicken salad with chilli jam
As the comedy circuit re-opens, Jayemanne's dinners are now a mix of late-night cheap eats and home-cooked curries. He's reached the stage where he can use his intuition rather than just following a recipe.
"It is very fun trying to understand what different flavours work together," he says. "Just thinking about what you've got available to you in your fridge or leftover and how you can put that together into a meal.'
