Shantha Mayadunne Biography

Shantha Mayadunne (Sinhala: ශාන්තා මායාදුන්නේ; died 21 April 2019) was a Sri Lankan chef and television personality.Shantha Mayadunne was a Sri Lankan Chef. She was a famous television chef in Sri Lanka; she had an experience of more than 30 Year. She hosts many television cookery programs in Sri Lanka for various channels include Independent Television Network (ITN), Rupavahini Corporation, Sirasa TV and more. She was the first Sri Lankan lady to go web-based cookery programs.
Shantha Mayadunne has taken his cookery education from various cooking schools from various countries including Australia, UK, Singapore, Thailand, India and more. She also holds the Advanced Diploma holder from “Wilton School of Cake Making and Decorating” Chicago, USA.
Shantha Mayadunne also wrote two books on cookery named “Rasa Bojun (2001)” and “Rasa Bojun 2 (2005)”. She was also the brand ambassador of various food products in Sri Lanka.
Shantha Mayadunne had also won various awards include State awards, Popularity awards, etc.

Shantha Mayadunne Physical Stats Height & Weight

Height (Approx) In Centimeters: 168 CM
In Meters: 1.68 M
In feet Inches: 5 Feet 6 Inch
Weight (Approx) 90 KG
199 Pound
Eyes Color Black
Hair Color Black

Shantha Mayadunne Career

She had thirty years of experience in the culinary arts and became one of the most popular Sri Lankan television chefs. She learned advanced international cooking techniques at reputable cooking schools in many countries such as Australia, UK, Singapore, Thailand, and India. As her popularity grew, she started to conduct classes, through workshops, mass media programs. She published two books, the first in 2001 while the second was in 2005.

Shantha Mayadunne Death

She was killed on 21 April 2019 by a suicide bomber during a series of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka. Her daughter was also killed in the attacks when both of them stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo for breakfast.

Sri Lanka bombings: Well-known chef and her daughter named as first victims of bomb blasts that killed more than 200

Nisanga Mayadunne and her mother Shantha ( Facebook )

A well-known chef and her daughter were among the hundreds of people killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
Shantha Mayadunne and her daughter Nisanga had been staying at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, one of four luxury hotels targeted in a morning of bloodshed.
Nisanga Mayadunne, believed to be aged in her 30s, had studied at the University of London, according to her social media page which has been flooded with tributes to the mother and daughter.
It comes as Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry confirmed three Britons and two people holding joint US and British citizenship were among the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks.
A British Foreign Office spokesman also confirmed that British nationals were among those killed and said their relatives are being provided support.
Just hours before the bombings, Nisanga had shared a picture of herself with her relatives on Facebook with the caption: “Easter breakfast with the family.”Her friend Radha Fonseca told Gulf News: “Nilanga was a very popular girl in college. Besides the fact that she was bright and smart, her mother Shantha Mayadunne, a renowned chef, made her more popular in college. She (the mother) was well respected and an inspirational chef for Sri Lankans.”
Police in Sri Lanka now says that 207 people were killed and 450 wounded after eight explosions rocked three churches, four hotels, and a housing scheme.
About 35 tourists, including Britons, Americans, and Dutch citizens, are believed to be among the dead and the Foreign Office said it was urgently seeking information from local authorities.
Six nearly simultaneous blasts went off during the morning in three churches where worshippers were celebrating Easter and in three luxury hotels frequented by foreign tourists.
Hours later, a blast at a guesthouse killed at least two people.
After the eighth explosion near an overpass in the area of Dematagoda on the outskirts of Colombo, the capital, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said three police officers were killed when they went to question suspects following a tip.
Two blasts went off shortly after the officers entered a house in Dematagoda.
Officials say seven suspects have been arrested.
The attacks mark the worst bout of violence in the South Asian country since its civil war ended a decade ago.
The magnitude of the bloodshed recalled Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war when separatist Tamil Tigers and other rebel groups targeted the Central Bank, a shopping center, a Buddhist temple, and hotels popular with tourists.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s blasts.

A Sri Lankan celebrity chef reportedly killed in the Easter Sunday attacks was pictured having breakfast in the upmarket Shangri-La hotel just minutes before a bomb tore apart the hotel’s dining room.
Shantha Mayadunne, an acclaimed chef and television personality, was featured in a photo shared to Facebook by her daughter Nisanga shortly before 9:00 am on Sunday, alongside the caption: “Easter breakfast with family”.
Minutes later, a suicide blast shattered the luxury hotel in Colombo — one of eight explosions that claimed the lives of almost 300 people.
The veteran chef and her daughter were among those killed in the attacks, according to Sri Lankan news outlet Hiru News.
Thousands of tributes have poured in on social media in the wake of the blast, with “heartbroken” friends and fans offering their condolences.
“May you and your Amma rest in eternal peace.”
Shantha Mayadunne was one of the island country’s most popular television chefs, publishing two books and conducting cooking classes and workshops.
According to her website, she was the first chef to have a live television cooking show in Sri Lanka.
Radha Fonseca, a friend of Nisanga, told Gulf News she was “numbed and shocked” by the attacks.
“Nilanga was a very popular girl in college,” she said.
“Besides the fact that she was bright and smart, her mother Shantha Mayadunne, a renowned chef, made her more popular in college.
The death toll from the attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the nation has risen significantly to 290, with around 500 people injured, police said on Monday.
Sri Lankan authorities have since confirmed they had “prior information” of an imminent attack on churches, up to 10 days before the bombings.

Sri Lankan authorities have confirmed they had “prior information” of an imminent attack on churches, up to 10 days before the Easter Sunday bombings which claimed the lives of almost 300 people, including foreign citizens.
The death toll from the attacks on churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lanka has risen significantly to 290, with around 500 people injured, police said on Monday.
Sri Lankans accounted for the bulk of those killed, although government officials said 32 foreigners — including British, American, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese nationals — died in the attacks.
DFAT said this morning that one Australian had been injured and that diplomats were offering consular assistance. It said it had no reports of any Australians being killed.
Sri Lankan Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene described the bombings as a terrorist attack by religious extremists, although there was no immediate claim of responsibility. He said most of the bombings were believed to have been suicide attacks. Thirteen people have been arrested so far.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe acknowledged the Government had some “prior information of the attack”, though ministers were not told.
News outlet Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported it had seen documents showing that Sri Lanka’s police chief Pujuth Jayasundara issued an intelligence alert to top officers 10 days ago, warning that suicide bombers planned to hit “prominent churches”.
“A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ [National Thowheeth Jama’ath, a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka] is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo,” the alert said, according to AFP.
Mr. Wickremesinghe said there was not an adequate response and there needed to be an inquiry into how the information was used.
He also said the Government needed to look at the international links of a local militant group.
He cited a foreign intelligence service as reporting that a little-known Islamist group was planning attacks.
A Sri Lanka police spokesman said he was not aware of the intelligence report.
Local Christian groups said they faced increasing intimidation from some extremist Buddhist monks in recent years.
Last year, there were clashes between the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community and minority Muslims, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam.

‘There was blood everywhere’

More than 50 people were killed in St Sebastian’s gothic-style Catholic church in Katuwapitiya, north of the capital of Colombo, a police official told Reuters, with pictures showing bodies on the ground, blood on the pews and a destroyed roof.
Media reported 25 people were also killed in an attack on an evangelical church in Batticaloa in the country’s eastern province.
Police said one blast struck a hotel in Dehiwela, near Colombo, while a military spokesman confirmed another in Dematagoda on the outskirts of the capital.
Another attack targeted parishioners at St Anthony’s Shrine in central Colombo, and the Shangri-La hotel, Kingsbury Hotel and Cinnamon Grand Hotel were also hit in the city.
Eyewitnesses reported harrowing scenes from Colombo.
One Australian, identified only as Sam, told radio station 3AW the Shangri-La hotel was a scene of “absolute carnage”.
He said he and a travel partner were having breakfast at the hotel when two blasts went off. He said he had seen two men wearing backpacks seconds before the blasts.

“There were people screaming and dead bodies all around,” he said.

“Kids crying, kids on the ground, I don’t know if they were dead or not.”
“People were being dragged out,” said Bhanuka Harischandra, a 24-year-old founder of a tech marketing company who was going to the Shangri-La for a meeting when it was bombed.
“People didn’t know what was going on. It was panic mode.
One churchgoer, who gave their name as Sylvester, described chaotic scenes as the bombs went off.
“I heard the explosion and then the roof fell on us. We took the children and ran out from the rear door,” he said.
“But when I came to the hospital I saw my brother-in-law and son on the ground.”
Mangala Karunaratne, a Colombo resident, said the community was “in disbelief”.
“During the 30 years of civil war we had lots of explosions in Colombo,” he said.
“But it’s been 10 years of peace and we got used to that. So that’s why it’s really surprising and shocking.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “several” Americans were killed and that “these vile attacks are a stark reminder of why the United States remains resolved in our fight to defeat terrorism”.
“[Targeting] innocent people gathering in a place of worship or enjoying a holiday meal are affronts to the universal values and freedoms that we hold dear,” he said.
Three Indian citizens and five Britons were killed in the blasts, and Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Theresa May offered their condolences.
Sri Lankan Catholic Church Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith described it as “a very, very sad day for all of us”.
“I [would] also like to ask the Government to hold a very impartial, strong inquiry and find out who is responsible behind this act and also to punish them mercilessly because only animals can behave like that.”
Two Muslim groups in Sri Lanka condemned the church attacks, and Pope Francis expressed condolences at the end of his traditional Easter Sunday blessing in Rome.
“I learned with sadness and pain of the news of the grave attacks,” he said in his Easter Sunday message.
“I wish to express my affectionate closeness to the Christian community, hit while it was gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence.”
On Twitter, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called the Sri Lankan terror attacks “an assault on all humanity”, while Israeli President Reuven Rivlin described them as “a despicable crime”.

Almost 300 people have been killed and around 500 injured in coordinated bombings at hotels and churches across Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed two Australians from the same family, who were living in Sri Lanka, were among those killed.
Two other Australians are among the hundreds of people who were injured in the Easter Sunday attacks.
Suicide bombers behind attacks
The attacks were carried out by members of a domestic militant group called National Thowfeek Jamaath, a government official said.
All of the bombers were Sri Lankan citizens, but authorities suspect foreign links, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.
Earlier, government forensic investigator Ariyananda Welianga said analysis had revealed the attackers were suicide bombers.
There were four attacks at 8:45 am on Sunday morning (local time). A fifth occurred five minutes later before the sixth explosion at 9:05 am.
Mr. Welianga said two suicide bombers carried out an attack on the Shangri-La hotel.
One suicide bomber each also then attacked the Cinnamon Grand hotel, the Kingsbury hotel and St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St Sebastian’s church in Negombo and the Zion church in Batticaloa.
In the early afternoon, there was the seventh blast at a hotel opposite the national zoo, and the eighth explosion near an overpass on the outskirts of Colombo at 2:15 pm.
These two later blasts are still under investigation.
Suspects detonated explosives at a safe house near the overpass blast, killing three police officers.
Police have arrested 13 Sri Lankans in relation to the attacks.
The attacks come almost a decade after the end of a bloody civil war.
Here’s how events unfolded.

Explosions set off during Easter Sunday services

Two Catholic churches and one evangelical church were targeted in three separate cities.
St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, is a popular place of worship and tourist attraction.
Alex Agileson, who was in the vicinity, said buildings in the surrounding area shook with the blast.
More than 50 people were killed at St Sebastian’s in Negombo, north of Colombo.
Pictures show the church’s roof was blown off in the blast.
Media reported 25 people were killed in an attack on the evangelical Zion Church in Batticaloa on the country’s east coast.

Popular luxury hotels targeted

Three five-star hotels in Colombo that are frequented by foreigners were attacked on Sunday morning.
A tourist, who asked not to be named, told the ABC she was eating at the second-floor restaurant of the Shangri-La when there were two blasts about 10 seconds apart.
She said the area had been full of visitors, including children.

“There was just screaming and everywhere I looked there was blood,” she said.

“Everyone was just hiding trying to work out what had just happened and what was going to happen and we just didn’t know.”
The Cinnamon Grand confirmed on Facebook that an explosion happened in a restaurant on the ground floor.
The Kingsbury Hotel was also attacked.
Two more blasts outside Colombo
An explosion was detonated at about 1:45 pm on Sunday at the New Tropical Inn opposite the national zoo in Dehiwala, south of Colombo.
An eyewitness on local TV said he saw somebody parts including a severed head lying on the ground near the hotel.
The zoo has since been closed.
At 2:15 pm another blast occurred at a house in Dematagoda, a suburb in Colombo, during a police raid. Three police were killed in the explosion.
Late on Sunday night police reported a petrol bomb attack had occurred at a mosque, while arson attacks on two shops owned by Muslims were reported in different parts of the country.
Worst violence since the civil war
Sunday’s attacks are the worst violence in Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war a decade ago.
The Sri Lankan Defence Minister has described the bombings as a terrorist attack by religious extremists.
Sir Lankan authorities have confirmed they had prior information about the attacks on churches 10 days before the bombings.

Shantha Mayadunne Biography, Height, Death, Family, Career, News