Shanaka Fernando (born 1968) is a Sri Lankan-born Australian restaurateur and self-described "social challenger", best known for his founding of the pay what you can chain of restaurants in Melbourne known as "Lentil as Anything".
Shanaka Fernando was born in Thimbirigasyaya,[1] a suburb (divisional secretariat) of Colombo, Sri Lanka, to an Irish Catholic mother and a father of Portuguese descent.
[1] He has written a book titled Lentil as Anything: Everybody Deserves a Place at the Table, with Greg Hill, and is often asked to address groups,[7] including sharing the podium with Joan Kirner, a former Premier of Victoria.
The Lentil as Anything values were created into a teaching unit by the department of education and distributed throughout Australian primary schools [9] He was invited by the Dalai Lama to join him as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia, season 3, episode 67.
[6] Controversy In 2021, Fernando was accused of serious misconduct and mismanagement after he allegedly used the charity for personal financial gain, misused government grants and hired a friend as a “ghost” employee.
[12] Whistleblowers referred to in the report have raised concerns that Mr Fernando supplemented his $80,000 a year salary package, paying rent and child support from the charity’s money.
A whistleblower also claimed that fraudulent contracts were entered into with hire purchase companies, on top of previously reported unpaid superannuation and underpayment of staff wages.