Kamal Silva, Executive Chef at Fairmont Vancouver Airport

Kamal Silva is the Executive Chef at The Fairmont Vancouver Airport. Silva’s culinary experience has spanned over 16 years in five countries and includes various culinary roles in leading hospitality companies.  He began his culinary career in his native country of Sri Lanka at the Taj Samudra Colomb. From 1999 to present, Silva has held several progressive positions:

- Commis 1 with the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Kuwait

- Commis 1 at the Sheraton Bahrain

- Chef de Partie at Le Meridien Dubai 

- Chef de Partie at the  InterContinental Hotel Al Bustan Palace in Oman

- Silva later rejoined the Le Meridien Dubai as Sous Chef and within one year was promoted to Executive Sous Chef.

In 2001, Silva joined Fairmont Hotels & Resorts as Sous Chef for the pre-opening team at  Fairmont Dubai.  He later left the Middle East in 2003 to join the company’s North American properties,  The Fairmont Jasper Lodge  and  The Fairmont Château Whistler in Canada. 

In January 2006, Silva returned to Fairmont Dubai as Executive Sous Chef.  In this position, he was responsible for leading the culinary brigade at Spectrum on One, a unique dining destination, featuring eight interactive kitchens specializing in six influential cuisines.

He reinforced the high culinary standards synonymous with the multi award-winning restaurant resulting in the recent accolades at the 2007 Time Out Restaurant awards, including ‘Highly Commendable Friday Brunch’ and ‘Best Global Cuisine’.  He also led  the hotel’s culinary department in the 2007 Emirates International Salon Culinaire Competition, which earned the hotel 17 awards, including the coveted ‘Chef of the Year’ designation.

Silva holds a Culinary Diploma in International Cookery from Asia Lanka Vacation Education School in Sri Lanka.  He is also a member of the hotel’s HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) committee and is a leader and coach for the Emirates Culinary Guild. 

In spring 2009 Chef Silva and his talented culinary team were proud to create the hotel's first herb and vegetable garden aptly named "Garden to Globe" after our restaurant Globe@YVR. Plans are underway to recreate the same garden in 2010.