There are some people who would be nervous to hear the food they are about to eat has “a high grapple factor”. Fuchsia Dunlop is not one of them. Dunlop is a celebrated expert in Sichuan cuisine and the author of a number of bestselling cookery books. An ingredient like duck tongue, she explains, requires … Continue reading
Sometime in the ‘80s, my husband watched in fascination as a beautiful woman in a yellow saree cut down a whole murunga (or moringa) tree. The Tamil film was K. Bhagyaraj’s Mundhanai Mudichu, the title a reference to the knot at the edge of a woman’s saree pallu where she might tie a few coins for … Continue reading
J.K. Methma Jayawardhana runs a business in which she might never meet her customer, even though her products are customised, intricate and deeply personal. The young entrepreneur is a graduate of the University of Moratuwa and founder of the brand Loha. “The main intention of ‘Loha’ is to reach passionate jewellery wearers through bespoke jewellery … Continue reading
My mother-in-law has never told me she loves me; unlike her son, I wouldn’t take it for granted. But I am always reassured by what I taste in her food. I go grocery shopping with her sometimes, trailing in her wake as she cuts a swathe through the crowded isles of Sri Lanka’s Wellawatte market, … Continue reading
Ashok Bajaj likes to keep his Presidents close and their First Ladies even closer. Washington DC’s best known Indian restaurateur presides over an empire of seven successful establishments in America’s power capital. Michelle Obama was seen dining at Rasika – one of the most awarded of the set – in a prelude to President Obama … Continue reading
Standing at the junction in Pettah, I let my nose guide me forward. Past the hot fragrance of dried red chillies heaped in their gunny sacks, past the subtler, earthy scent from the stores where rice merchants weigh their produce and the shops of the spice sellers where the aroma of cinnamon, clove and pepper … Continue reading
In his cave, the cheese maker is hard at work. A burst of chilled air greeted us when he first opened the heavy door and now the floor beneath our feet is slick and cold. In the air is the faint smell of ammonia, a natural by-product of the ageing cheese. Stacked on the wooden … Continue reading
It’s a Thursday and Elinor Galapitage has been up since 5 a.m. baking cakes to bring to the Good Food Market in Battaramulla. Working together, she and her husband Yohan have also prepared quiches and crumbles; pies, tarts and little clay pots ready for takeaway, the creamy homemade yoghurt inside laced through with a swirl … Continue reading
Sitting across from a stranger in a foreign country, Mirra Fine will sometimes catch herself wondering how she got lucky enough to be there. Mirra and her fiance, chef and activist Daniel Klein produce ‘The Perennial Plate’ – an online weekly documentary series ‘dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating.’ For series one and two … Continue reading
In Dharshan Munidasa’s yakitori garden, the sauce has been 18 years in the brewing. As the coals splutter, heating the grill, Dharshan tells us that jaggery, apple and honey go into the signature recipe and traditionally the pot is never allowed to empty – instead every cupful that is taken out is painstakingly replaced. Incidentally, … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 