Move over Gordon Ramsay. When it comes to food reviews, the critics who truly matter in Sri Lanka are our fathers.
Every family has one. The man who quietly studies the plate before taking the first bite. The one who knows whether the rice is cooked properly, whether the crab curry has enough spice, and whether a restaurant deserves a second visit. Their reviews are rarely posted online, but everyone at the table knows exactly what they’re thinking.
And if you’ve spent any time on TikTok lately, chances are you’ve come across one particular dad whose opinions have become a favourite among thousands.
Meet Damith Wickramasinghe, or Dam.eats on TikTok.
Known to audiences across TikTok as the man calling all of us his “Putha” and making us into one food-loving community, Damith has built a loyal following through honest food reviews, family banter, and an unmistakable warmth that makes people feel less like followers and more like family. In fact, regular followers know that whenever his daughter Diarra can be heard saying, “Dad, I need you to put a shirt on,” there’s a good chance an excellent meal, and an even better review, is about to follow.
But this Father’s Day, beyond the biryani reviews, restaurant visits, and viral videos, we meet the father behind the screen: the man who turned a simple family dynamic into one of Sri Lanka’s most loved online communities. As #FathersDay content continues bringing families, stories, and shared memories to TikTok feeds across the world through 3.4 Million posts, Damith’s story feels particularly fitting. Behind the restaurant discoveries, food reviews, and loyal community is something many Sri Lankan families can recognise instantly: a father whose greatest joy comes from sharing moments with the people around him.
Before There Was TikTok, There Was Family
Despite the growing audience, countless food reviews, and thousands of “Puthas” who now greet him online and in person, Damith is quick to remind people that social media is only a small part of who he is. “Before everything on social media, I’m simply a father, a husband and someone who believes in hard work and simple values,” he shared.
His journey, like many fathers, has been shaped by business challenges, family responsibilities, and life’s inevitable ups and downs. Through it all, fatherhood has remained one of the roles he values most. And while audiences know him today through TikTok, the story behind the account begins with his daughters.
Or, as he would jokingly point out, one daughter in particular.
“I actually have three daughters, but Diarra is my favourite,” he laughed, quickly adding that she was sitting beside him while he answered the questions and that he probably wouldn’t hear the end of it if he said anything else.
That playful dynamic has become one of the defining characteristics of the content audiences have come to love.
The Daughter Behind the Camera
While Damith may be the face audiences recognise, he is the first to admit that Diarra is the driving force behind much of what happens. “Diarra is not just part of this journey. She is the heart of it.” The arrangement, according to him, is simple. “I eat. She edits.”
While audiences see him tasting food and sharing his thoughts, Diarra handles much of what happens behind the scenes. She identifies locations, plans visits, films reactions, edits videos, and pieces together the content that eventually reaches thousands of viewers.
The pair’s connection to food goes far beyond content creation. Five years ago, they launched Pink Salt on social media together, introducing them to the world of food and hospitality. Since then, Diarra has gone on to establish several ventures of her own, but their shared passion for discovering great food remains central to everything they create.
And despite being the first person behind the camera, Damith admits he sometimes feels a little guilty. “I get a little sad that she gets to taste the food last, so I make sure to leave her a mouth or two,” he joked.
What viewers see online, he says, is exactly what happens off camera. “What people see on our videos is exactly how we are in real life: simple, genuine, blunt and full of love.”
Food, Family and Full Tables
Food has always played an important role in the Wickramasinghe household. “We love food. And I absolutely love to cook!” In fact, one family tradition remains firmly intact. “For the past many years Christmas lunch is always a Paka crab curry that my wife insists I cook.”
But for Damith, food has never simply been about recipes or restaurants. It has always been about bringing people together. “We were the kind of family to eat at least one meal together.” As the years passed and his daughters gradually left home to build lives of their own, the house naturally became quieter. It is a feeling many parents will recognise.
Today, however, food reviews have unexpectedly become a way of bringing some of that energy back. “So doing these reviews a couple of times a week, to me and my wife, means a full and happy table.”
Perhaps that is why his content resonates with so many people. Beyond the restaurants and recommendations, audiences are really watching something much more familiar: family, conversation, friendship, and the simple joy of sharing a meal.
When TikTok Met “Dam.eats”
The journey into TikTok was never part of a grand plan. One of the first videos Diarra filmed featured Damith eating doughnuts from her café, Brown Sugar. The response surprised them both. Encouraged by the engagement, she opened dedicated pages for him on Instagram and TikTok.
Soon after came a review featuring one of Damith’s greatest food loves: biryani. Specifically, Chana’s biryani. “When we uploaded it, the Puthas went berserk.” From that point onward, they realised the content worked because it was never really content.
It was simply them being themselves.
“When we started creating content, I didn’t really know what we were doing. I didn’t know what views and saves and shares were. I was eating and being honest.” That honesty quickly became the foundation of everything that followed.
TikTok, with its ability to turn ordinary moments into shared experiences, helped transform a father-daughter hobby into a thriving community. Through comments, shares, reposts, and conversations, audiences were no longer simply watching videos. They were becoming part of them.
The platform’s discovery-driven nature also played an important role in helping that community grow. Through shares, reposts, comments, and recommendations, Damith’s videos began reaching audiences far beyond his immediate circle, introducing new viewers to the warmth, humour, and familiarity that would eventually define the “Putha” community. What started as simple food reviews quickly evolved into a space where people exchanged recommendations, shared family stories, celebrated local businesses, and connected over a shared love of food.
More Than Followers. A Community.
For Damith, the value of TikTok has never been measured by metrics. “It’s never been about numbers. The real value is in the connections we’ve built.” Over time, he began noticing that people were connecting with the content in ways he never expected. “There have been many moments that touched me…people coming up to me and saying they feel like they know us, families telling me they started going out together because of our videos, or someone saying our content reminds them of home.”
Those moments made him realise the journey had become much bigger than food reviews. “It’s about connection, emotion and community.”
At the centre of that community is one simple word: “Putha.”
“The term ‘Putha’ is something I’ve always used at home. It’s natural to me and it’s part of who I am.” What started with his own children gradually expanded into something much bigger. “It started with my children, my children’s closest friends, their boyfriends, thereafter husbands and now the rest of the community that we have built.”
His conclusion is simple: “All are my Puthas.”
That sense of belonging is something TikTok communities have become increasingly known for. In Damith’s case, food became the common language, but the community ultimately grew around something much bigger: family. Through TikTok’s discovery features, shares, and conversations, new “Puthas” continue joining the journey every day.
As Father’s Day arrives, Damith’s reflections become less about content creation and more about the lessons fatherhood continues to teach him. “Being a father has taught me patience, sacrifice and unconditional love. It has shown me that the smallest moments often matter the most.”
He says some of life’s most valuable lessons have come from his daughters too. ” …how to be present, how to enjoy life and how to see happiness in simple things.” That perspective perhaps explains why so much of his content resonates with audiences. Beneath every restaurant review and food recommendation is a reminder to slow down and make time for the people who matter most.
Dad’s message to us is also as simple: “Make time for each other. Life gets busy, but the moments we spend together are what truly matter. Go out, share a meal, talk, laugh and create memories. Those are the things that stay with us forever.”
Because at the end of the day, as Damith himself puts it, “it’s not about where you go or what you have…it’s about who you share it with.”
