Chef Derrick Kwa partners with Lago for a Father's Day Dinner built around one question : How would you describe your Father?

On Saturday, 20 June 2026, Lago Italian Bistro at Colombo City Centre will host a one-night Father's Day dining experience created in partnership with Chef Derrick Kwa: a meal designed to bring families together and get them talking.

Each table chooses seven words from a list of twelve descriptors (nurturing, creative, fierce, stubborn, and others) to describe their father, and those choices become seven sharing plates.

No two tables will eat the same meal.

Chef Derrick Kwa is a Singaporean chef whose career spans fine-dining restaurants across three continents, including Michelin-starred establishments and venues featured on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.

He later served as Group Executive Chef for Wilde & Co, a collection of boutique luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, working closely with local chefs to familiarise himself with the country's spices, ingredients, and local culinary practices.

This experience gave him a deeper understanding of Sri Lanka's evolving food scene and strengthened his appreciation for its bold flavors and ingredient-led cooking.

Originally trained as a digital marketer, Chef Derrick spent years thinking about how ideas are communicated, how stories are told, and how people connect.

That foundation never left him. When he transitioned to the culinary arts, food became another medium of communication; a language that doesn't rely on words, but on ingredients, memories, and shared experiences.

A Menu the Guest Writes

For this Father's Day, Chef Derrick has built a menu of twelve words, not twelve dishes: nurturing, fierce, protective, generous, adventurous, creative, joyful, dramatic, stubborn, wise, resilient, calm.

Each table chooses seven words that best describe their father, and the kitchen composes those choices into a meal that arrives in three waves: three sharing plates to start, two mains, then two desserts.

Because some descriptors have more than one dish representation, every combination still resolves into a complete dinner, and no two tables eat the same meal.

What anchors each word to a plate is a deliberate story.

Sometimes it's the feeling of the dish: nurturing becomes gnocchi in rasam with sautéed aloe; the comfort food, the sick-day drink, the healing plant, three kinds of care on one plate.

Sometimes it's the symbolism of a single ingredient: protective is built from clams, chilli, and turmeric; the shell as armour, chilli as the plant's own defence, turmeric as the South Asian ritual applied to ward off harm. Stubborn is goat, the animal that refuses to be herded, and coffee, strong and unapologetic.

"For me, the beauty of a meal is in the connection," says Chef Derrick.

"The best meals do more than satisfy your stomach.

They make you think, make you feel, and bring people together.

I wanted to build a menu that creates that connection directly, that puts it right into the experience.

Before the food even arrives, you're talking about your father, and the meal grows out of that conversation."

Every dish begins with curiosity, breaking an idea down to its essential ingredients, techniques, and memories before rebuilding it with intention.

Chef Derrick builds largely with local Sri Lankan ingredients, a touch of the island's flavour, and ideas drawn from around the world, all shaped by the discipline of contemporary fine dining.

The experience is open beyond the obvious. Guests can come with family to celebrate their fathers, or with friends and partners to talk about what fatherhood means to them.

The Partnership with Lago

The evening is hosted at Lago Italian Bistro, Colombo City Centre, in a sharing-plates format that suits a menu built to be passed around and talked over.

“What we loved about Derrick's concept is that it turns a meal into a conversation”, says Greta, co-owner of Lago.

“At Lago, we believe the best dining experiences bring people together, and this one encourages families to reflect, share stories, and celebrate the people who have shaped their lives.

By allowing guests to build their menu around the qualities they see in their fathers, every table becomes part of the story.

We're delighted to host an evening that combines meaningful connection with exceptional food.”

● The collaboration centers on creating space not just for dining, but for reflection, conversation, and connection, an evening where the meal is the occasion to say something you might not otherwise
About Chef Derrick Kwa

Chef Derrick Kwa is a Singaporean chef whose career is rooted in strategy, creativity, and storytelling.

He has trained at Michelin-starred establishments and venues on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list across three continents, and served as Group Executive Chef for boutique luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, deepening his understanding of the country's ingredients and culinary traditions.

Today, Derrick creates intentional dining experiences where food becomes a medium for connection, memory, and presence.

About Lago

Lago Italian Bistro is an Italian family-owned restaurant located in Colombo City Centre, inspired by the beauty, warmth, and convivial spirit of Italy's Lake Como.

Blending authentic Italian traditions with a carefully curated mix of locally sourced and imported ingredients, the restaurant invites guests to experience a taste of La Dolce Vita in the heart of Colombo.

Designed for sharing, Lago brings people together over great food, conversation, and memorable experiences, combining genuine Italian hospitality with quality ingredients and time-honoured culinary traditions.