Back to the funda-lentils

Lentil as Anything, the dream of Sri-Lankan migrant Shanaka Fernando, is in freefall. His chain of pay-as-u-feel restaurants owe a whopping $160,000 to their suppliers, and after a bitter split over how to rescue the crippled organization from bankruptcy, Shanaka’s two best managers have both resigned. Now it’s down to Shanaka to find some way to keep the doors open – not just for his customers but for the 100 or so people who rely on Lentil for work, support and in some cases visa sponsorship.

But customers have abandoned Lentil, and there is no money coming in. Shanaka’s solution is to immediately begin a food and service revolution – which means spend spend spend. He calls on an old friend and masterchef, Errol to come in and take over the kitchen operation, and charges him with the task of turning the place around in two weeks. Errol has cooked for Arabian kings and run his own restaurants and knows what a place like Lentil needs. Meanwhile Shanaka hires fine-dining restaurant manager Jess to get the service back on track. It’s a huge risk, and if it fails so will Lentil. But Shanaka has faith…

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