Sparrow

My parents are from Sri Lanka, but they met in London. Mum was a GP and dad ran a fried chicken business on the same spot our restaurant is now.

He always said he had a globally inspired menu, which I thought sounded naff – but actually that’s what we say about our menu now.

I knew from around 2013 that I’d really like to open my own restaurant. I did a couple of stints at fine-dining restaurants. One of them was St John, where I met Terry. He’s from New Zealand, but really interested in south-east Asian cooking and was also always keen to visit my parents and eat their Sri Lankan food.

Actually, he made me rediscover that side of my heritage. So when we opened, we thought, let’s just make whatever we fancy: Thai, Sri Lankan, French – the world is our oyster.

When you have a restaurant, it’s your whole world and every problem is your problem. But on a great night, you can’t beat it: the drinks are flowing, the kitchen has found its groove and you get people thanking you as they leave. And that buzz… You could be a pop star in Wembley Arena. You go home just feeling on top of the world.

Images: Elzbieta Piekacz