Private Cooking Class in Ella: Discover Traditional Sri Lankan Cuisine and Culinary Culture
5.0
18 Ratings
Immerse yourself in the vibrant flavors and rich culinary culture of Sri Lanka with a private cooking class in Ella. Learn traditional methods and modern techniques to create authentic Sri Lankan dishes at home.
Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • R2P5+M4 Bandarawela - At Sweetvalley Sri Lankan Cooking School, we assist you to learn how to cook and enjoy cooking of your preferred authentic Sri Lankan food by your own.

We conduct private cooking classes in a homely set up allowing you to enjoy the activity at your pace and according to your preferences. Also we bring you the experience of following traditional Sri Lankan methods and tips of cooking while teaching you modern methods of cooking Sri Lankan food, that will be useful once you are back in home.

What's Included
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
Meal Options

  • Starter, Tradirional snack, Herbal drink - the session starts with preparing a traditional snack or starter that makes you feel comfortable during the class.

  • Milk Rice (Kiribath) - Milk rice is a traditional specialty food made for breakfast. A blend of rice & coconut milk makes this delicious dish. often taken with chilly paste

  • String hoppers, Hoppers, Rotti, Pittu - String hoppers (Idiyappam) , Hoppers (Aappe) Rotti and Pittu are most popular options for breakfast/dinner in Sri Lanka. well accompanied with curries

  • Traditional snacks and sweets - Preparation of following authentic Sri Lankan snacks/sweets are offered in our class. Halepe, Walitalepe and Laveria and many others upon request

  • Kottu - Even though Kottu is not a Sri Lankan traditional dish, we prepare Kottu on request due to its large popularity.

  • Black Curries - Chicken, Fish or Jack fruit black curry (Jack fruit curry for Vegan lovers)

  • White Curry variations - Lentils, Potato, Tomato white curries made with Coconut Milk

  • Salads - Vegetable Salads in Traditional Sri Lankan way

  • Sri Lankan Tempered curry - Tempered potato in Sri Lankan Traditional way

Additional Information

We are a private cooking school where you will have a tailor made course based on your preferences, your pace of learning and the time you can spend with us. We assist you to cook your preferred Sri Lankan meal by your own.
We teach you both traditional Sri Lankan methods as well as modern techniques, tips of cooking the same food in a modern kitchen. Then you’ll learn how to make them easily when you are at home
During the session you’ll discover Sri Lankan culinary culture, its traditions and the uniqueness of Sri Lankan cuisine.
In Sri Lankan culinary culture, curry paste is the source of color, taste and aroma. We bring you the experience of preparing curry paste from a wide selection of spices following traditional methods.
Once you enroll with us, we will discuss your preferences beforehand and the course can be arranged to make the session more informative and enjoyable to you.

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(18 Ratings)
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Danimatz11
Apr 20, 2024
Unforgettable! - My husband and I celebrated our anniversary and my birthday with 2 of our closest friends in Sri Lanka. My husband booked the cooking class for my birthday dinner and it was the best surprise! Sithara and Upali welcomed us to their home where they started off with a Sri Lankan light ceremony to celebrate our anniversary by enlightening our marriage. Then, we had sticky rice cake and ginger tea for my birthday. After all of that we started the cooking lesson where we cooked 10 traditional dishes. Not only did we learn how to make them but we had lots of fun in the process. The next day, Sithara sent the recipes together with some pictures! We had a great time! My husband and I were both incredibly happy with the whole experience and to meet two amazing human beings. Sithara and Upali are both very kind and warm and just a genuinely awesome couple!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sylviemc3603ca
Apr 9, 2024
Just wow, best night of our whole trip! What an honour to be welcomed into their home and cook together - What an incredible night! My mum and I did a cooking class with Sithara and Upali and it was the absolute highlight of our trip. Our driver organised the class for us so we had no idea what to expect, I had only done group classes in the past. This completely blew my expectations, being welcomed into their private home and kitchen, and spending a whole evening cooking and learning from Sithara. Sithara is so passionate, and an incredible cook. She doesn’t cut any corners, showing us how she makes the different spices and curry powders, even using home grown cinnamon. She showed us how she uses coconuts for all parts of cooking, shaving it herself with a little knife to make sambal, different kinds of coconut milk, and even to season her cooking pots. Our driver knew I love eggplant so Sithara specially planned to make an eggplant dish which was amazing, she chose everything to be seasonal and I could tell that no two classes would be the same. I could write about this night forever, we learnt so much, the food we cooked was absolutely delicious and I have bought my own terracotta pots to try and recreate it at home This really didn’t feel like a class, it felt like being welcomed into a friend’s home and cooking together, this is by far one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had, do yourself a favour!
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Charleyh96
Apr 2, 2024
A must-do! Great experience with great hosts! - What an amazing experience! This is an absolute must do whilst you are in Ella. Sithara and Upali are fantastic hosts and taught us so much. Upali picked us up from our hotel and welcomed us into their home where we were greeted with tea and sweets. Then we got to the cooking! After an introduction into the different ingredients we were going to use, we were taught exactly what to do and how to do it. As two not-so-excellent chefs, no question was too silly and we ended up with a table full of delicious food! It really was amazing! Upali and Sithara felt like old friends and we loved chatting with them about our lives, travelling and everything else. They were friendly, knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour. For us, this experience was a highlight of our trip. We truly learnt about culture and food and even came away with recipes so we can make them at home. Thank you so much Upali and Sithara.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Arturoy850
Mar 28, 2024
Incredible experience! 100% recommended - We are very grateful for having met Upali and Sithara. They are a wonderful and welcominng couple. The food was delicious and the cooking class very informative and useful, but above all we had a great time chatting with both Upali and Sithara. I would definitely recommend this experience to anybody who wants to learn not only about Sri Lanka food but also about its culture.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
O6168djmartat
Mar 28, 2024
Experience you can’t miss out on! - Amazing food, amazing people and overall amazing experience! Thank you to Sithara and Upali for everything we learned and ate. 100% recommended!!
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Dinisoliveirac
Mar 28, 2024
Fantastic experience - must try when in Sri Lanka - We were a group of 4 friends looking to learn more about Sri Lankan cuisine. Upali and Sithara were super welcoming from the start - explained all the ingredients, steps to take and made everything super fun. Had a great time cooking and an even better enjoying all the food in the company of 2 very interesting people. If you’re looking for an authentic experience while in Sri Lanka, you should definitely book a class with them!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Charlottege645wc
Mar 20, 2024
Great cooking session!! - We had a wonderful evening with Sithara and Upali cooking delicious Sri Lankan food together. They made us feel very welcome from the start and you can tell that they are both passionate about cooking. In addition to super tasty food made from fresh and local ingredients, we had exciting conversations and an evening that felt like we were among friends. Thank you for that! Sithara makes sure that all the recipes are authentic, but can also be recreated at home. She also makes the recipes available after the class. We can really recommend the cooking class to everyone!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Francescadh4893kg
Feb 10, 2024
A wonderful evening cooking and chatting! - We had such a wonderful evening with Sithara and Upali learning how to cook Sri Lankan specialties and the feast we made was absolutely delicious. Sithara had worked hard to ensure that everything we made, we could recreate back at home. She even went to an extra effort to teach us how to make gluten free coconut rotis, after we spoke about how my Mum with coeliac disease, finds it very hard that she cannot have special breads. One of the best parts was chatting and getting to know Sithara and Upali and more about Sri Lankan culture. We look forward to making our own feast back at home, and to visiting again, hopefully to Sithara’s restaurant in the future! Thank you again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Debschemb
Feb 6, 2024
Incredible experience! - Where to begin? From start to finish this was such a lovely evening. I would say one of the best things I did in Sri Lanka. Sithara and her husband are both so enthusiastic about the food of their country and it absolutley radiates through everything they say and do. The menu was planned out with real thought to show the versatility of ingredients that change depending on application and ratio. I learnt so much and food was abundanta nd entirely delicious! I cannot speak highly enough about the experience and would highly recommend if you were in the are. Everything is looked after including transportation to and from and they even packed me a little good for the train journey they knew I was taking the following morning :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dehippo
Jan 27, 2024
Lovely people, best food and nice atmosphere! - The experience was amazing! Both of them are really nice and well English speaking persons. Quite before the cooking class the owner will ask if there will be any preferences. I want to prepare original Sri Lanka food without meat and fish. At the beginning you will get an explanation of all the different products which will be used for the cooking class. After that the magic begins. With a step by step explanation we created 10 tasty meals together. Furthermore we had a lovely atmosphere. It was possible for me to ask many questions due to the country Sri Lanka, the food, the religion and different kind of topics. We really had fun together while the preparation of the meals. My highlight was the preparation of the meals according to the old recipes and additionally with the historically kitchen utensils. It was one of the best experiences in my Sri Lanka holidays! 🤩👍🏻
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up to 5 guests
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June 2024
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