Meet Malki and Mahesh at their home and drive together for about 15 minutes to the Piliyandala market. Piliyandala is a suburb of Colombo (18 km from Colombo city) and has a thriving market in the town center. This is a huge open market where locals like to shop for their vegetables, fruits and spices. Walk around the market and learn more about the regional and local produce. You may even buy a seasonal vegetable for your cooking class. On the way back from the vegetable market you will stop at the lake to buy some fresh fish or prawns! The fishermen go fishing early morning and sell their produce during the day. The seafood is very fresh here and if you feel adventurous you can hop on a boat and go fishing as well!

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Kodi and Meena are a very sweet couple that live in a house in Galle Fort - colonial time building! Even before we had our first cup of tea with the host, we had the opportunity to roam the house, searching through the old rooms, finding pieces of art - Kodi is an art collector. After we got to know the hosts over a cup of tea, we went straight to the market with Kodi to pick up (nearly) everything we would need to cook with Meena. Fish market first and the vegetable market second. Bring your camera! After we came home from the market we started cooking the curries. There was no hurry as we prepared the food. Leaving time for detailed descriptions of the recipes, the used spices, the preparation of the meal and specifics about sri lankan food in general. After we finished preparing the curries, we couldn't wait for eating - being curious about the different tastes of the eight(!) curries we managed to prepare. Overall Kodi and Meena made this a special experience for us, in a special home in a special country. Thanks for everything Kodi and Meena and all the best to you!

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Meet Manoshi outside Kandy Municipal Central Market for your market tour. This is a local indoor and outdoor market where most locals buy their fruits, vegetables, spices and meats from. Its a wonderful place to learn about the local ingredients, watch the locals in their element haggling for the best deals and an opportunity to interreact with vendors while you buy ingredients for your cooking class. You can even choose the vegetable you'd like to cook at the market and Manoshi will teach you how to pick the freshest one and bargain for the best price! After the market tour, catch a rickshaw to Manoshi's home for your cooking and meal experience.

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Shifu will welcome you into her home with a steaming cup of milk tea or a refreshing lime juice depending on the season. As you sip on your welcome drink she will introduce you to Sri Lankan cuisine, the ingredients used and how she learned to cook. You will then join her at the dining table to share a traditional Sri Lankan Muslim meal along with some of Shifu's signature dishes. She offers a choice between two menus. Please indicate your preference when making your booking. The first menu, a blend of Muslim and Malay cuisine includes Sri Lankan Muslim chicken biryani, green peas curry, lemongrass chicken and Malay pickle. Menu 2, a traditional Sri Lankan menu includes ghee rice, kaliya (brinjal and ash plaintain), daal (lentils), potatoes in coconut milk, mango curry and chicken curry.

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Nanditha lives with her husband, daughter and two dogs in a beautiful home in central Colombo 5. Nanditha is very creative - visible when you visit her home - tastefully decorated with family photos, art, and paintings, some of which are hers! Warm with welcoming smiles, Nanditha and her family are hospitable hosts. Nanditha’s friends and family have often appreciated her cooking which led her to share her passion with those who want to learn more about Sri Lankan cuisine. <br><br> Sri Lankan crab curry is a delicacy and when made with the right balance of spices, coconut milk, moringa leaves, garlic, onion, ginger and lemon – it becomes a very special, memorable meal! This is what you can expect during a meal with Nanditha who personally buys crabs from her favorite vendor at the fish market. Over the years her crab curry has become Nanditha’s signature dish and she hosts a crab feast at least once every few weeks for friends and family. You will start your experience with an introduction to Sri Lankan home cooking and food traditions, as you sip on your welcome drink and snack on baked garlic and cassava chips. You will then head to the dining table to enjoy some delicious Sri Lankan crab curry that is eaten with roast bread, string hoppers, dhal curry (lentils) and red coconut sambol. You cannot leave without tasting Nanditha’s famed milk toffees, and a special dessert baked by her daughter. End your experience with some refreshing Sri Lankan ginger tea.

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Bandu was absolutely friendly, warm and welcoming from the moment we arrived. His home is spacious, well kept, neat and tidy with modern furniture and house plants. There's a stunning view from the living room. You could see the green marshlands and the Colombo skyline. Our favourite part of the experience was tasting the mushroom and tomato dish he prepared. It was absolutely delicious, with salty, and caramelized flavours, both in one. We also loved learning how to cook Sri Lankan chicken curry with him. Together, we feasted on rice and curry and watalappan (a custard-like, Sri Lankan dessert which he prepared the night before for us).

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Buddhima was very friendly, knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. She was able to answer of all my questions not only about food but also about Sri Lankan culture and religion. She encouraged me to try new fruits walking round the market and purchased them for me to do so along with some traditional Sri Lankan snacks. The market tour was brilliant and having purchased the produce for the cooking class we drove to her house. I met her family and sat with them to have tea. The whole experience of being at her house and meeting her family I thought was such a nice touch and I felt very honoured to be there. Th cooking course itself was unbelievable I learnt so much. Buddhima explained the justification behind every ingredient and step. We made a range of dishes all of which she had chosen deliberately as she knew I could get those ingredients back in the U.K. The food was amazing and was easily the best meal I had whilst I was in Sri Lanka. I can’t rate the whole day enough.

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As I said above, we were expecting a more private experience. We just feel a little misled about how it was portrayed on the site/email. We were given the incorrect time. We planned on a 2'“3 hour experience on our last day in Sri Lanka, and it ended up taking up 4.5 hours.

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With fresh, organic produce in your hand, walk over to the farmer’s outdoor kitchen. Sip on a refreshing seasonal drink like a king coconut or a fresh pressed tangerine juice before you start your vegetarian farm cooking experience. Learn to cook a seasonal and traditional Sri Lankan meal from family recipes handed down through generations. Your vegetarian hands-on cooking class with the farmer’s wife, an expert village cook, will last about an hour and a half. You will learn to cook 3-4 traditional dishes from scratch. Enjoy learning how to grind a coconut sambol (the national condiment), a mallung (fresh salad from a vegetable you may not have seen before) and a few seasonal vegetables picked from the farm, before you sit down at a farmer’s table to share the meal you helped prepare with Shehan and the expert village cook.

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Shasikala と彼女の家族に感謝しています。ひとり旅だったので最初は躊躇していましたが、行ってみて良かったです。料理レッスンというよりプチホームステイをしている気分で楽しめました。I received a warm welcome from Shasikala's family. I enjoyed my first Traveling Spoon experience even I was solo trip. To tell the truth, it was a little different than I expected. ( I spent most of time watching their cooking. ) It was not just businesslike class, I liked that. They love Sri Lankan food and traditional ways of cooking. You should start your class from market tour with Shasikala's uncle, he knows a lot about local food. That was really interesting. I'm glad to know local family life. It's highly recommended.

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Me and my girlfriend did a cooking class with Mohara at her home. It was a fantastic experience - she was very kind and funny and a very inspiring chef. We made four different currys which was better than most meals we’ve had during our three week trip around Sri Lanka. I really recommend everyone to cook with Mohara! Great way to learn about the local kitchen!

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