Cooking Class Colombo: Learn Sri Lankan Cuisine with Local Market Tour

122 Ratings

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

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Immerse yourself in the vibrant flavors of Sri Lankan cuisine with a hands-on cooking class in Colombo. Explore the local market, learn traditional recipes, and bring the taste of Sri Lanka to your kitchen.

Duration: 5 hours

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

TRANSPORT • Airport Pick up: We will greet you upon arrival (With Fully Air-Conditioned Car: Suitable for 2/3 people, Welcome Board, Expressway Entrance) 38USD. • Hotel Pick Up: The cost depends on the distance. Please contact us for assistance. KEY DETAILS • CITY: Colombo • MEETING POINT: Villa Ivy Crest • RECOMMENDED FOR: Couples/Families/Friends • LOCAL CASH NEEDED: Extra Beers (Beyond the first one) • ACTIVITY: Market visit, Clay-pot Cooking INCLUDED: • WELCOME REFRESHMENT • FRIENDLY TOUR GUIDE • 5-COURSE LUNCH/DINNER • RECIPES / CERTIFICATE TRIP ITINERARY Enjoy our freshly made fruit juice or a herbal drink, explore our villa, and get refreshed & ready for the tour while our experienced guide briefs you about the agenda. Before starting the market visit and cultural cooking tour in Colombo, you will have the chance to select a menu from our family recipes that cater to everyone. Similar to the palm technique used by Italians to measure spaghetti, we also have many traditional techniques and tactics in home cooking that are not explained (or rather cannot be explained) in cookbooks or videos. Our chef is well-versed in these tips and tricks, proven through generations, that make your food tastier with better aroma and color. He will involve you in every step of cooking, from cleaning to measuring to actual cooking, while sharing tips associated with each step. We take relatively longer than Europeans or Americans to prepare a meal, but you will never regret the time spent once you taste the food. No matter where you are, there are always certain dining manners to follow. Eating like a local can be trickier than you might think. Every culture has its own food beliefs, traditions, and etiquettes. Our first rule is to serve others before ourselves. Points of Interest - Rustic Cooking Class Colombo

What's Included

Light refreshments
Lunch
Professional guide
Bottled water
All taxes, fees and handling charges

What's Not Included

Alcoholic drinks (Beers)
Drinks
Gratuities
Hotel drop-off
Hotel pickup

Additional Information

Rustic Cooking Class holds the distinction of being Sri Lanka’s initial interactive culinary course with the highest number of reviews. It includes an immersive Local Market tour to ensure a comprehensive cultural and culinary journey in Sri Lanka. Participants will enjoy a delightful session and carry home valuable cooking insights to enhance their home cuisine.

At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day and traffic conditions
Kindly WhatsApp us at +94756066645 to receive the specific meeting point for your booking.

Location

VW99+VCV

Our base is in Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. However, the meeting point for the market tour may vary based on the date. Please Contact us via Whatsapp to get the direction and more information

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

5.0

(122 Ratings)

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Robyn_b

Sep 7, 2024

An excellent hands on introduction to Sri Lankan cuisine - Nim organised transport from our Colombo hotel to his local market .That worked seamlessly! Market shopping was fun,with Nim being most informative about a whole range of fruit and vegetables that were unfamiliar to us. Upon arrival at his home we were provided with a delicious wood apple drink made by Nim and then began our cooking adventure.Nim is an excellent instructor.Well organised,skilled,patient and passionate about Sri Lankan food. We highly recommend this cooking experience.

Review provided by Viator

D2860umsusanw

Sep 2, 2024

Learning cooking skills from Sri Lanker just before the flight home. - I managed to book a cooking class at the last minute with Rustic Cooking Class. Nim was extremely helpful he managed to fit 4 of us in for the next day. We started with the market tour where we had different produce explained to us. We were also able to try some of the fruits that we had not previously tasted. Then onto cooking. We all selected a fruit or vegetable that we could make a curry with. Nim was able to work on our choices. I found this to be more interesting than a prepared menu plan. So, we had 4 curries made from beetroot, jackfruit, banana flower and eggplant. Great expedience I would strongly recommend this while you are in Colombo

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Sharontoronto98

Aug 13, 2024

Wonderful experience. - We did the market shopping and cooking tour with Nimh. It was fantastic. We met him at a community market where he toured us around and explained the many products that we had not seen before. We then purchased some things for dinner and took a tuk tuk with him to prepare the meal. It was my husband and me and he took such lovely care of us. He walked us carefully through the preparation of chicken curry, pineapple curry, coconut sambal and coconut roti. We learned how to cut, cook and spice all of these things and finally enjoyed the delicious meal. Nimh then helped us get a tuk tuk back to our hotel. He is a lovely person and we very much enjoyed the experience.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

W1509oilauraa

Aug 9, 2024

For anyone curious about unfamiliar foods - Going to the market in a new country is always intimidating and baffling, but not with Nim as a guide! I got to ask all the questions I wanted, and then we cooked with the ingredients we bought. The cooking class took place a little bit away from the hustle of the city, which was a nice break from a business trip that had me downtown the rest of the week. We saw some great wildlife from the balcony as we enjoyed a refreshing drink before prepping the food for cooking. Nim is very knowledgeable about food, agriculture, cooking, and the culture and history of food in Sri Lanka. This experience was a real foodie's delight!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Stephen_t

Mar 24, 2024

Shopping, cooking, eating - perfect! - Nim, our guide and teacher, showed us round the market and explained how many vegetables are used in Sri Lankan cooking. We then went back to his lovely home and he showed us how to cook several dishes. Finally, we had a delicious meal together. We learned a lot about food and Sri Lankan life in general.

Review provided by Viator

Christy_d

Mar 9, 2024

Wonderful cooking class and market tour - We had a wonderful day with Nim touring the market and then creating our delicious Sri Lankan lunch at a private house outside the city. The market walk was fun and informative, and the setting for our cooking class was perfect next to a forested area with monkeys in the trees and lots of other wildlife to see on our breaks. Nim was the perfect host and was very friendly, engaging and knowledgeable about local cooking. We made coconut roti, coconut sambal, chicken curry and beetroot curry, and it was all amazingly tasty. We really loved the experience and highly recommend it.

Review provided by Viator

Carolyn_h

Feb 28, 2024

What a great intro to cooking classes - Nim is a very relaxed gentle character who is very willing to engage and share. He met us promptly at the agreed meeting point. We shopped for ingredients at a nearby local market. Then transferred to his place for our cooking lesson. A fabulous environment, very clean and neatly set out. A totally enjoyable afternoon/evening. Some wonderful conversation, some great food and an overall very positive experience. First time cooking class ever and would recommend Nim, and would repeat the whole experience . Future classes will be judged against this one !

Review provided by Viator

Nick

Feb 16, 2024

A top class host and wonderful food - Everything was well organized and ran smoothly. Ashee arranged for us to be collected from our cruise ship and driven to the market to meet Nim. We wandered through the market and Nim introduced us to lots of new vegetables and fruits and spices. We got to try lots of things at the market and could decide what we wanted to cook that morning for our lunch. The people at the market were warm and friendly, and Nim shared his knowledge at every step. Next we took a TukTuk ride to Nims place. Away from the business of the city, with monkeys swinging in the trees, mongoos and other animals wandering around in the gorgeous surroundings outside his place. Then it was time to get to work. Nim gave us step by step instructions and what and why we were doing things. We cooked a jackfruit curry, an amazing fish curry, we made coconut sambal and coconut roti. All delicious!!! And washed down with a Sri Lankan beer. When it was time to get back to our ship, Nim had a car waiting to take us back on time for sailing. Really a wonderful day that gave us not just a taste of Sri Lankan food, but also the culture and the kindness.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Loisb847

Feb 11, 2024

Way more than rustic! - ‘Rustic’ is underrating the service that Nim, the culinary master, provides. He is passionate about food and through the market tour and the cooking lesson, he wants you to understand what the ingredients are, how they go together, how they are best presented and how you feel about the food you’re cooking. Oh, and it’s delicious as well! He was also willing to take me by myself, which as a solo female traveller I really appreciated. He is trustworthy, respectful, knowledgeable and funny. Generous with his time and experience. It is a little off the beaten path, which is also good. The cooking space has ample room and a lovely ambience. I really had a fantastic experience.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Trip48015015808

Feb 10, 2024

A top notch activity - Our tour of the market was fascinating and we got to test new fruits. It was fun choosing what to cook with and to discover that you can cook with coconut oil - we had only ever come across it is skin cream before. Back in Nim’s kitchen the venue was calm, spotlessly clean and we enjoyed the monkeys and other wildlife in the surrounding green space. We enjoyed preparing the jackfruit, onions, garlic, chillies, chicken and other ingredients for the curries. Making coconut roti was a joy and easy (when you have fresh chopped coconut). It was good to discuss food and cooking in various countries and also comparing and contrasting what happens in the U.K. and Sri Lanka. Conversation was easy with such a competent and friendly host. The resultant meal was delicious and we travelled home in our tuk tuk contented.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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up to 15 guests

1 Adult