Shanaka Fernando

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, a suburb (divisional secretariat) of Colombo, Sri Lanka, to an Irish Catholic mother and a father of Portuguese descent. His household included various members of his extended family, and they were reasonably well off, but he was acutely aware of the poverty that many of his fellow citizens experienced. He attended a Buddhist school and was involved in theatre and choreography. He appeared in productions of Fame and Guys and Dolls.

He came to Australia in 1989 (or 1995) because the Sri Lankan Civil War meant that he could not travel to university or get around safely. He wanted to study law at the University of Melbourne but dropped out. He travelled extensively in the third world, and was increasingly drawn to social justice issues. He had a series of jobs before hitting on the idea of a pay what you can non-profit vegetarian restaurant, which he opened in St Kilda in 2000 using his own funds. He named it "Lentil as Anything", after the Australian rock group Mental As Anything. At this time he lived in a tent on the St Kilda foreshore. He has since expanded and there are numerous venues operating under the "Lentil as Anything" banner, including one at the former Abbotsford Convent.

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