Inspire

Lentil As Anything

Wednesday, 25 Feb 2009

Words by Sarah Johnson

Turn back the clock some thirty years and Shanaka Fernando was probably the kid in the playground who made sure that no one was left out of the game. In fact, it is even easier to picture Shanaka dishing out his sandwiches and cutting up his apple to share with the children whose families couldn’t afford to send any lunch. It’s easy to imagine, because it’s a similar scenario that Shanaka fulfils in his adult life, albeit on a much larger scale.

Shanka Fernando is the founder of Lentil as Anything, a unique restaurant concept that would baffle most business owners with their eye on margins and the bottom line. In true hippie style, Lentil as Anything refuses to set prices and asks only that customers pay what they can afford or what they think their meal is worth.

On any given day, many people pay nothing to fill their bellies with nourishing vegetarian food, while many others will pay $20 for the same dish. As Shanaka says, “it balances out at the end of the day.” This bountiful philosophy not only provides healthy fare to those in need, but it also brings together an eclectic mix of people to share food, music and conversation. “I was hell bent on influencing a culture where we disregard the material and monetary rewards in exchange for the social rewards of being together and helping out each other,” says Shanaka.

Ripples of generosity

Born in war-stricken Sri Lanka to a Catholic family and educated in a Buddhist school, Shanaka developed a keen sense of social justice in his early years. He arrived in Australia in 1999 with an idea to study law, but abandoned this after two years and embarked on a six-year philosophical journey to third world countries.

Shanaka was looking for answers for western society, where he saw a lack of trust and an unhealthy emphasis on achieving power, status and money. He saw people, in their determination to “wear an Armani suit and drive a Ferrari”, isolating themselves from society.
So he returned to Australia with a simple plan - something like his own social experiment - to see if he could cause a ripple effect simply by being as open, generous and kind as he could personally be.
His experiment took shape in the form of Lentil as Anything, because it was at meal times on his travels that he saw the best examples of an inclusive society. He recalls joining a tribe in the Philippines where “there was a real sense of camaraderie and a celebration of the eccentricities that each character brings to the situation.”
“One guy came wearing a hat made of chicken feathers and everyone laughed at it. Someone else played a beautiful piece of music on a flute and everyone was enthralled.”

It was experiences like this that led Shanaka, a hospitality novice, to open the doors of a restaurant in St Kilda, Melbourne in 2000. “It seemed that people functioned best when there was a simple approach to things. So I thought let’s make food available and see what happens.” What happened was that people, many considered to be living on the fringe of society, started hanging out at Lentil as Anything, drawn in by its relaxed and inclusive atmosphere. Many of them were artists and musicians who added colour and life to the restaurant and in turn attracted more mainstream customers. “These people created a very extraordinary experience in the restaurant,” says Shanaka.

Beyond the plate

While success for Shanaka meant simply being able to open the restaurant on the second day, Lentil as Anything has surpassed expectations as a restaurant and even diversified to help marginalised people in our society get back on their feet. Within three years, Lentil as Anything comprised a chain of three restaurants and now also includes a café called Artplay near Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne and a school canteen at Collingwood College. Beyond hospitality, it has developed a swag of programs to assist groups such as migrants, refugees, people with disabilities and the long-term unemployed.

Before the ovens fire up for the lunch crowd, the Abbortsford restaurant, located in the grounds of the Abbortsford Convent, functions as a classroom for English tutoring and homework assistance. The learning continues when it reverts back to a restaurant, as students refine their cooking, serving and language skills. There are also driving lessons and crisis accommodation available under the Lentil as Anything umbrella.

Success for a song

Unsurprisingly, many people get their break from Lentil as Anything. One example is a woman named Claire, a part indigenous, transgender person, who Shanaka first encountered busking on Brunswick Street, in Melbourne.
“She had one of the most profoundly bad voices I have heard,” quips Shanaka. “I used to go to Brunswick Street to marvel at her audacity; there she was singing at the top of her voice with her five-dollar ukulele.”

Soon after, Shanaka noticed that Claire had begun to hang out at the Abbotsford Convent restaurant; visiting daily with her dog in tow. In next to no time Shanaka had Claire strapping on an apron and before long she became a paid employee and then the manager of Artplay. Claire now holds a full-time job in a bakery. “It was a fantastic result for me,” says Shanaka.

No doubt, this is just one of many amazing outcomes achieved at Lentil as Anything, a concept which proves that businesses can achieve commercial success while also operating with compassion and for the good of a community. Lentil as Anything reminds us that there is always another way of doing things and all it takes is for one person to start the ripple effect.

Pictured top: Shanaka Fernando, founder of Lentil As Anything, Second: The Lentil As Anything secret recipe, Third: Food and culture, Fourth: Learning is fun.

Go back to Enterprising Spirit stories

Go back to Inspiring Stories

Home

Back