cooking lesson

Our cooking class in Sri Lanka was an absolute highlight of our trip – simply unforgettable! Even the Service was excellent: We were picked up directly and received warmly. From the beginning, all our food preferences were taken into account, which made the course very personal and enjoyable. The cook was fantastic – not only incredibly competent, but also warm, funny and full of passion for Sri Lankan cuisine. She explained each step patiently and understandably, so that even beginners came along wonderfully. We got great insights into the daily life and fascinating food culture of Sri Lanka. Together we prepared various curries, fresh salads, rotti and other traditional dishes – all with local ingredients and a lot of attention to detail. It was snipped, cooked, laughed and of course eaten a lot!  The atmosphere was relaxed and familiar – so cooking is just fun. For us, it was definitely the best cooking class we ever did – and the best food of our entire trip! Conclusion: If you want to immerse yourself authentically in Sri Lankan cuisine, this is the place for you. Absolutely recommend!

As I love to cook, my gorgeous daughter bought me a cooking experience with 'Culinary with Dammika' as a birthday present during our stay at Bentota. In short, the experience was absolutely brilliant. A tuk-tuk came and picked us up before heading to the market to buy some ingredients of our choice. We then drove for about 10 mins from Bentota up to the Katuwatta Miriswatta area. On arrival we were greeted with a sweet treat and then met the whole family, including their beautiful children, who all joined us in the experience. The cooking is done outside in a traditional styled open shelter, built with wooden poles from the cinnamon tree and the roof is covered with banana leaves. Dammika leads the experience and is assisted by her daughter-in-law. If you wish, you can choose to opt out and simply watch the masters cook while taking notes, or you can jump right in and get your hands dirty. The four of us got right in there and helped with all the prepping, grinding and cooking. We all ‘attempted’ to grind coconut and spices into a sambal paste using a traditional grinding stone, but displayed poor technique compared with Dammika! The cooking was done using clay cooking pots over a fire that burnt cinnamon sticks to add that extra special fragrance to the dishes. When we finished cooking, we sat down to the most amazing feast, that comprised 10 seperate delicious dishes, including fish curry, jackfruit curry, chicken curry, fish cutlet balls, pol samba, coconut roti. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and would highly recommend this to anyone who is seeking an authentic Sri Lankan cooking lesson.

Chef Kumudu is a gentle, kind woman who listen carefully to suit your needs. I came with my son who has Down syndrome and he loves cooking. She took us in a private class though she had other group in quee. Chef Kumudu attentively teach him everything from scratch, grating coconut with her special machine and even show him how to eat with hands Sri Lankan ways!!! We really appreciate everything there. The cooking class, the open kitchen by the river(it's like a lagoon), the final results of what we cook together from rice to shrimp curry, vegetable curry, dahl, coconut roti, sambol etc the ambience you name it. One unforgettable experience for us. Thank you thank you!

Beautiful place, really in depth lesson with the most amazing tasting food. The family was lovely and welcoming, really nice few hours :)

Fantastic Experience in a great Atmosphere. Familiar and authentic, we learned many things about Sri Lankan cuisine and ate like friends. Thanks for the great experience.

We had a great cooking experience. We cooked a number of dishes, everything was explained slowly and clearly and we were able to be involved in the processes. Most of the spices are grown in their garden which was great too. Once all the food was prepared we sat down and enjoyed our meal in a stunning setting overlooking the lake. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Highly recommended experience.

Veronica thought us how to cook some amazing basic currys as well as Sambol and some other stuff! Communicating with her went easy and we had fun all the time - especially noticing that the kitchen is tailor-maid for her size.