About

Helping his Grandmother and Aunties cook in their traditional Sri Lankan kitchen in Colombo is one of Peter’s first memories. It was the hub of the house and filled with laughter, gossip and much passionate debate over the cooking techniques of ancient family recipes.

After moving to Australia in 1974, Peter ended up accidently enrolling in ‘Home Science’ at school and was a natural. Not a keen advocate of the school system, at 15 Peter begged his father to be able to leave in Year 10 and start working. His Dad drove him to his local suburban restaurant and told him “you like cooking, go in that restaurant there and ask for a job then”. He started working there that very day.

He worked and trained in early Sydney icon ‘Rogues’ with Greg Doyle 1981-83. At the same time, he moonlighted at multiple venues – ‘Tony’s’, ‘Lamrock Café Bondi’, ‘Pegram’s’ with Mark Armstrong, ‘Turrets’ & ‘Reflections’ with Peter Doyle; finishing his apprenticeship at ‘Le Café’ & ‘Puligny’s’ with Greg Doyle.

He then took the usual Australian pilgrimage to London for 2 years gaining experience at ‘Gastronome One’, ‘Roue St Jacque’, ‘Shares’, ‘Stanton’s’ and ‘Le Gavroche’.

Back to Australia in 1986, Peter’s career path took him to ‘Blue Water Grill’ with Neil Perry, ‘Barrenjoey House’ & ‘Bilson’s’ with Michael McMahon in 1994. He then travelled to ‘Vatulele Island Fiji’ with Henry Crawford, opened his own restaurant with his wife Karen, ‘Avalon at Bondi’. Then he stepped into the opening executive chef’s role at ‘All Season’s Darling Harbour’ during the Sydney Olympics, followed by Executive Chef of ‘’Hayman Island Resort until 2003.

Peter is well known for establishing Sydney’s iconic Flying Fish Restaurant & Bar which he opened in 2004, and successfully led the kitchen team as Executive Chef for 8 years.

In 2008, Peter’s love of the Pacific & passion for seafood led to the opening and continued success of Flying Fish Fiji situated on the beachfront at Sheraton Fiji Resort. Featuring Peter’s signature dishes, menu design and team mentoring, the restaurant became Fiji’s premier dining destination for over 10 years. The recent acquisition of Sheraton Fiji Resort by Marriot Hotels has seen an end to an era on 30 September 2018

In May 2013, Peter moved his family to beautiful Noosa and opened Noosa Beach House on vibrant Hastings Street. Featuring the stunning produce and seafood of the Sunshine Coast, the menu is infused with his signature Sri Lankan spice and world flavours. After 8 successful years at the helm of Noosa Beach House, Peter is farewelled his partnership with Sofitel Noosa Pacific Hotel to bring his signature style to a new multi-faceted food & beverage venue for Parkridge Resort, Alba Noosa, which opened December 2021 in Noosa Heads. The beautifully designed venue combines a restaurant and cocktail bar, pizzeria and providore. The venue also hosts ALBA Chef’s Kitchen, a creative space that hosts cooking classes, private chefs’ tables, and a kitchen studio.

Over the years, Peter has consulted on many projects from hotel openings, restaurant design and food and beverage operations. A few of these include Sheraton Resort & Spa Tokoriki Island – Fiji; Cape Weligama – Sri Lanka; Aggie Grey’s Hotel in Samoa; Bistro Manly; Infinity Pacific Charters.

Peter’s childhood experiences cooking with his grandmother and aunties in the traditional kitchen of his ancestral home in Colombo, Sri Lanka inspired his first published cookbook Serendip – My Sri Lankan Kitchen.

His next cookbook My Feast with Peter Kuruvita takes food lovers on a culinary and cultural journey through the island communities of Asia and the South Pacific.

Lands of the Curry Leaf was published by Murdoch Books in 2018 and is a flavour-filled vegetarian and vegan journey through the subcontinent and beyond – from Bhutan, Nepal and Afghanistan to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Peter has now presented five TV series produced by The Precinct Studios for SBS Television, which air on many networks worldwide. His shows combine beautiful scenery with sensational local cuisine.

Peter’s television series are available on DVD:

• My Sri Lanka with Peter Kuruvita
• Island Feast with Peter Kuruvita
• Mexican Fiesta with Peter Kuruvita
• Peter Kuruvita’s Coastal Kitchen (Series 1 & 2)

Peter has worked with Dilmah Tea in an ambassadorial role for many years, developing the concept of tea gastronomy. This involves hosting the annual worldwide “Real High Tea Challenge”, recipe development and developing Dilmah t-Lounges across the globe.

Working with Dilmah’s charitable arm, the MJF Foundation, Peter is proud to be a Governor of the Empower Culinary Hospitality and Inspirational School. This initiative empowers and trains young people from underprivileged and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Peter is a proud ambassador for Lexus of Maroochydore. Lexus of Maroochydore is committed to delivering amazing customer service which aligns perfectly to Peter’s own customer service philosophy.

Peter Kuruvita is also a proud ambassador for Stoddart Australia. Stoddart is one of Australia’s leading stainless steel fabrication specialists, metal fabrication manufacturers, commercial food service equipment fabricators and distributor of major reliable brands for the food service, architecture and building industries. Peter has used Stoddart equipment through-out his kitchen at ALBA by Kuruvita, including the cooking school (pictured below) at ALBA Chef’s Kitchen.

Peter can also often be found headlining food festivals and premium hotel promotional events around the globe.