Tea with Tooting Mama discovering heritage and culture through Sri Lankan food

If you're planning a trip to Sri Lanka, go grab your cuppa, this is the episode for you! 

I met Urvashi a year ago. We attended the same food writing course, held at the British Library. During the course we got chatting and Urvashi revealed she was about to embark on a four-week journey through Sri Lanka, exploring its food culture.  I knew right away Urvashi would have to be a guest on my show.

At the time of recording Urvashi was fresh from a month in Sri Lanka, we talk about the highlights of her trip including Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Knuckles, Ella, Yala, Galle, Hikkaduwa, Hiriketiya. We talk about the differences between Sri Lankan and Indian food, including coconut use, tempering methods, rice-based accompaniments, condiments, and dried fish culture, plus standout meals like Priyamali Gedara and Ministry of Crab.

Urvashi is a former Great British Bake Off contestant. She entered the show as part of a challenge to prove that her middle years would not be boring! And post bake off, ger life has been far from that! She left her career in financial services, is now a successful food writer and cook book author and has also run a community café.

Biting, Biting is Urvashi’s debut cookbook which features fast and easy,100% vegetarian and vegan snacks using leftovers and store-cupboard ingredients. Urvashi takes you into the world of Gujarati-style snacking, where nothing is wasted and every recipe can turn into a whole range of snacks. She shows you how to turn a simple potato shaak ( curry) into a samosa, or serve it up on toast with an egg, or stuffed into a parotha or flatbread. 

Urvashi shares her roots leaving Tanzania to her early childhood in Tooting and Southall. She explains dhokla (a steamed savory cake) and how her book modernised Gujarati recipes, think barfi a fudgelike Indian sweet made from milk powder and ghee reimagined as millionaires shortbread. 

00:20 Meet Urvashi Roe

01:26 Bake Off origin story

06:46 From finance to food writing

10:49 Gujarati roots in Britain

12:59 Farsan and zero waste

15:43 Dhokla explained

19:03 Modern Gujarati leftovers

20:09 Why Sri Lanka for a month

21:30 Road trip and car hire

23:43 Cultural Triangle highlights

26:32 Sigiriya and mountain retreat

29:11 Ella tourism reality check

31:29 Tea factory and heading south

32:03 Yala Safari Reality Check

33:36 Gloriosa Flower Highlight

34:12 Kirinda Villa and Wild Beaches

35:34 Hiriketiya Foodie Beach Vibes

37:14 Galle Fort Food Crawl

38:39 Arak Tasting with Sanjay

39:34 Hikkaduwa Tsunami and Snorkel Stop

41:14 Local Innovation and Sri Lanka Pride

43:20 Sri Lanka Not the New Bali

44:00 Sri Lankan vs Indian Food

51:36 Gujarati Dinner Party Menu

54:35 Urvashi’s Standout Restaurants

56:13 Next Trip Plans and Tips

57:54 Where to Follow Urvashi 

In this episode of Tea with Tooting Mama I'm talking to Sav Perera, former MasterChef Australia contestant and judge on MasterChef Sri Lanka.

We talk about her food memories, identity and how MasterChef changed her life.

Sav shares moving to Adelaide at 18 amid Sri Lanka's civil conflict, while acknowledging the privilege she had as a Sinhalese Buddhist, and reflects on growing up with checkpoints, bomb threats, and a dispersed family.

We talk about her late mother Chandrika, a long-time and well-loved Sri Lankan Airlines cabin crew trainer, and how cooking helped her process grief after her mother's death in 2017 and revisiting her mother's steamed egg curry on MasterChef.

Sav explains her love of Sri Lankan flavours, breaks down what real lamprais is, describes Australia's evolving Sri Lankan food scene, and outlines her work in pop-ups, content creation, diabetes advocacy, and bringing her experience as a former MasterChef Australia contestant to judging the new MasterChef Sri Lanka series.

Sav restaurant recommendations

Kurumba, Surry Hills

Hoppers Joint, Melbourne

Many Little Bar, Melbourne

Ella, Darwin

00:00 Welcome

00:11 Meet Sav Pereira

01:47 Moving to Australia

03:44 Civil War Childhood

06:25 Privilege And Diaspora

08:18 Lessons From Mum

12:48 Grief And Cooking

14:37 Steamed Egg Curry

17:40 Modernizing Tradition

21:27 Sri Lankan Food Australia

26:37 MasterChef Pressure Cooker

31:22 Purpose And Mum Energy

32:05 Cooking In Your Bones

32:42 Ninety Minute Lamprais

35:05 What Lamprais Really Is

38:04 Flow State And Food Lineage

41:57 Building A Food Career

45:45 Why Not Me Mindset

49:35 MasterChef Sri Lanka Impact

53:02 Dream Dinner Menu

56:33 Jaggery Pudding Breakdown

57:57 Best Sri Lankan Restaurants

01:00:29 Where To Follow Sav And Wrap

Sav restaurant recommendations

Kurumba, Surry Hills

Hoppers Joint, Melbourne

Many Little Bar, Melbourne

Ella, Darwin

Grab my free guide to Sri Lankan cooking, and join the Tooting Mama community by signing up for my weekly newsletter here.

Find my recipes here.

Check out my Instagram here

Never miss a single episode by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and tell your friends about Tea with Tooting Mama and my Stubstack Tooting Mama.

It’s only fitting that I kick off my Sri Lankan travel series with my podcast with Sam Clark from Experience Travel.

Over the years, people had been telling me I had to meet with Sam. He runs this great travel company, the Experience Travel Group, and has a genuine interest in Sri Lanka. We finally met this summer.

Tooting Mama is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

One morning, after my swim in Tooting Lido, I made my way to Balham to meet Sam for a coffee and talk about Sri Lanka. We discussed my forthcoming trip, the podcast I had created, and my plans for a Tooting Sri Lankan culinary tour.

It was this conversation that precipitated my now ten-day trip around Sri Lanka, which took me from Colombo to the Mudhouse eco-retreat, a colonial estate in the heart of the coconut triangle, the hill country, then down to Sri Lanka’s southern coast to explore Galle, Thalpe and Hiriketiya. The journey can only be described as profound and brought me closer to my heritage and culture.

Returning to the UK was hard as I tried to acclimatise to the onset of autumn and to pick up my life.

The trip has been the inspiration for this travel series, allowing me to reflect on my journey and share the best moments with you through:

* The serialisation of my trip here on Substack with recipes, travel stories, and photography about the places that stole my heart and crept under my skin.

* Tea with Tooting Mama: Sri Lankan Travel Stories, conversations with the people about Sri Lankan travel, food, and hospitality.

* Future recipes home-style dishes inspired by aunties and chefs’ Sri Lankan kitchens.

I’d like to extend my thanks to Sam and the team at the Experience Travel Group, who kick-started this project, and to Jean Marc Flambert from Secrets of Ceylon, who hosted me. And to my nephew, Abishek Gunaratnam, who drove me around Sri Lanka and captured my trip with his stunning videography skills (creativity runs in our family).

Sri Lankan Travel Stories: Curating A Transformative Journey in Sri Lanka

In this episode of Tea with Tooting Mama, I’m joined by Sam Clark, co-founder of the Experience Travel Group.

It was youthful curiosity that brought Sam to Sri Lanka, and those early travels had a huge impact, exposing Sam to a way of life vastly different from his own. This formative experience sowed the seeds for the Experience Travel Group, which creates bespoke travel itineraries to help visitors get beyond the beach and discover Sri Lanka’s hidden depths.

By crafting tailor-made packages that include immersive experiences, giving back to communities, and a touch of surprise. Travellers are guaranteed more than a holiday; they get a transformative experience.

Sam shares his belief in travel as a force for good, highlighting how carefully crafted interactions can honour and uplift local cultures.

A Wanderlust Legacy

Travel is in Sam’s blood; it’s a passion he inherited from his formidable grandmother. As a young woman in the 1930s, she’d pack a trunk and journey around the globe, something almost unheard of at the time. It was her stories of driving ambulances during the war, skydiving in her late 80s, that fired Sam’s desire to explore the world. It’s a legacy that has undoubtedly shaped his career and his life.

Sri Lanka’s Resilience and Rich Culture.

Our conversation explores how Sri Lanka has weathered numerous challenges over the decades, including a civil war lasting over 25 years, the tsunami, economic crisis and civil unrest and more.

Despite this, the country consistently bounces back, demonstrating resilience and a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit. Sam talks passionately about the importance of sustainable travel, not just as a business model but as a catalyst for positive change within local communities.

Culinary Adventures

Food is integral to the Sri Lankan experience. Sam insists the best meals don’t come from high-end restaurants but from local villages, with food cooked over open fires in clay pots. Something you need to try when you visit Sri Lanka.

For anyone contemplating a holiday to Sri Lanka, Sam Clark assures it is one of the safest and most rewarding destinations imaginable.

Go grab your cuppa and settle in for this conversation with Sam Clark.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:20 Meet Sam Clark: A Passion for Travel

01:15 Sam’s Inspirational Grandmother

05:43 First Impressions of Sri Lanka

07:49 The Birth of the Experience Travel Group

10:03 The Tsunami Experience

13:36 Sri Lanka’s Resilience and Recovery

15:38 The Ethos of Experience Travel Group

20:43 Striving for Transformational Experiences

21:16 The Allure of Sri Lanka

23:05 Hidden Gems and Scenic Beauty

23:57 Historical Marvels of Sri Lanka

25:08 Wildlife Wonders

26:26 Sustainable Travel Practices

28:33 The Tipping Culture

31:16 Sri Lankan Cuisine and Dining

36:38 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

* The Experience Travel Group

* The Mudhouse

Tea with Tooting Mama is in Feedspot’s 30 Best Sri Lanka Podcasts

Grab my free guide to Sri Lankan cooking, and join the Tooting Mama community by signing up for my weekly newsletter here.

Find my recipes here.

Check out my Instagram here

Never miss a single episode by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and tell your friends about Tea with Tooting Mama and my Stubstack Tooting Mama.

Finding Authenticity: Jack Lury’s Culinary Journey from Pop-Ups to Lury, Hastings

In this episode, Tea with Tooting Mama, I’m sitting down with Jack Lury, founder and chef of Lury in Hastings, to explore the intersections of Sri Lankan, Dutch, Portuguese, and British culinary heritage. 

Jack shares his journey from pop-ups in London to opening his own restaurant on the South Coast, and how his unique background shapes his approach to food.

I had spotted Jack on Instagram and I was curious about his food. I had been meaning to go to one of his pop-ups which were in and around Dulwich just as the world opened up after COVID. I never quite made it, and then Jack’s Instagram feed went cold. Until, a few months later, he started posting from Hastings, with a new restaurant and a new baby.

I knew I had to have Jack on my podcast to talk about his unique take on food which combines his classical culinary training with the flavours of Sri Lankan cuisine. 

Though I have eaten at Lury’s, and the food is excellent, this isn’t a review. This is more of an exploration of Jack’s heritage and identity interpreted through food.

A Heritage of Many Flavors

Jack’s culinary journey is deeply rooted in his multicultural background. Jack is of dual heritage British Sri Lankan. His Sri Lankan roots are of both Dutch and Portuguese Burgher (people who are descended from European settlers) . And it’s Jack’s family history which is reflected in his cuisine. 

 “The Burger community brought a whole new palette of food to the culture, making it so diverse now,” Jack explains. From the use of butter and meat to the introduction of European pastries and cakes, these influences are woven into the very fabric of his menu.

Blending Classical Techniques with Sri Lankan Soul

Jack’s cooking style is a fusion of classical training and Sri Lankan flavours. He’s not interested in simply modernising traditional dishes; instead, he reinterprets family recipes through his own lens. Signature dishes like crab and squid ink pasta are more than just culinary experiments; they're personal expressions, marrying the nostalgia of Sri Lankan crab curry with the refinement of French technique.

From Pop-Ups to Permanent Roots

The path to opening Lury wasn’t straightforward. Jack began with pop-ups in London, testing concepts and building a following. The transition to a permanent space in Hastings brought its own set of challenges from renovating a crumbling building to navigating the logistics of a full-scale restaurant. 

Jack’s adamant he’s not just another London restaurant that’s lifted and shifted itself to the South Coast,: “We wanted to feel like it is part of the community, not just a London restaurant transplanted to Hastings.” For that I applaud him.

Sourcing Local, Celebrating Community

Lury is as much about place as it is about food. Jack and his partner Izzy have made a conscious effort to source ingredients locally, balancing quality with the realities of running a small kitchen. Their collaboration with local artists and ceramicists has transformed the restaurant into a living gallery, where every plate and napkin ring tells a story. The design, led by Izzy, draws on the colors and textures of Jack’s dishes, creating a warm, welcoming environment.

Sourcing Textiles: Bringing Sri Lankan Heritage to the Table with Barefoot

The story of Luri isn’t just told through food, it's in the fabric of the restaurant itself which draws inspiration from his Sri Lankan roots. One of the most meaningful collaborations has been with Barefoot, the legendary Sri Lankan textile company known for its vibrant, handwoven fabrics.

Izzy, with her background in design, was determined to avoid anything that felt too overtly “touristy” or clichéd. Instead, she wanted the interiors to subtly echo the colors and textures of Jack’s heritage and the food he cooked.

After discovering Barefoot’s work on Instagram, she reached out to the company, who custom-designed a fabric for the restaurant when the original pattern was no longer available.

This thoughtful approach to design, makes Lury more than just a place to eat. Lury’s is a sensory experience that celebrates culture, memory, diversity of the Sri Lankan identity. 

Authenticity, Diaspora, and the Creative Process

For Jack, authenticity isn’t about strict adherence to tradition, it's about honesty and personal expression. During our discussion Jack was candid about the imposter syndrome that comes with representing a heritage that’s both his and not his. “The food is authentic simply by virtue of it being mine. It’s a reflection of who I am.” This philosophy guides his menu development, allowing him to balance innovation while respecting his roots. 

Advice for Aspiring Restaurateurs

Jack’s journey offers valuable lessons for anyone considering the leap from pop-ups to bricks-and-mortar. “Be prepared for the unexpected”, he advises, and don’t underestimate the importance of community both in terms of customers and collaborators. Word-of-mouth has been Lury’s greatest asset, building a reputation that’s as much about connection as it is about cuisine.

A Restaurant That Feels Like Home

At its heart, Lury is a celebration of heritage, culture, creativity, and community. 

I believe Jack’s story is a reminder that authenticity comes from within, and that the best food tells a story that's as rich and complex as the people who create it.

Connect with Jack and Lury:

Instagram: @luri.hastings

00:00 – Introduction & Host Welcome

00:27 – How Jack and the Host Connected; Jack’s Culinary Heritage

01:54 – The Burger Community and Its Influence on Sri Lankan Cuisine

03:51 – Bread, Pastry, and Cake Traditions

07:27 – Family Cooking Memories and Early Influences

09:15 – Developing the Restaurant’s Menu: Fusion and Reinterpretation

12:55 – Signature Dishes: Crab & Squid Ink Pasta, Mars Pan, and More

14:40 – Jack’s Culinary Training and Early Career

18:42 – Imposter Syndrome and Embracing Heritage

19:59 – The COVID Pivot: Pop-Ups and Meal Kits

22:24 – Moving to Hastings and Opening a Permanent Restaurant

24:32 – Renovation Challenges and Lessons for Aspiring Restaurateurs

28:36 – Collaborating with Local Artists and Ceramics in the Restaurant

28:36 – Sourcing Sri Lankan Textiles: The Barefoot Story

33:34 – Building Community and Reputation in Hastings

36:56 – Balancing Authenticity, Innovation, and Diaspora Identity

44:42 – Sourcing Ingredients: Local vs. Quality

48:20 – Jack’s Ideal Sri Lankan Meal at Home

49:45 – Favorite Sri Lankan Restaurants

51:49 – What’s Next for Luri and Jack’s Vision

53:33 – Closing Remarks & Thanks

Baobab: How Jollof Rice and Biryani are building a new Sri Lankan-West African fusion lifestyle brand 

Zaynab Zubair, or Zee, grew up in the foothills of Kandy in Sri Lanka, which prepared her for life in Devon, by way of Bahrain and Australia.

This global childhood has left its mark on Zee's life and its found its way into her relationship, her family, the book she's writing, and Baobab, the brand she's launching with her Gambian husband.

I talked to Zee about her soon-to-be-published novel, Finding Serendipity, which was started during lockdown. The novel began to take shape once Zee had met her husband. The Sri Lankan and West African voice is an integral part of the novel, and we view this through the eyes of the main protagonists.

Zee used food, in particular, jollof rice and biryani, to help her characters explore their culture and identity as people growing up far from their homeland. This draws from Zee’s own life experiences. The fusion of West African and Sri Lankan cultures and identities continues to leave its mark on Z's life.

We talk about Zee's dual heritage relationship and family, and how, by fusing their cultures, Zee and her husband launched Baobab, which expresses Sri Lankan and West African culture through food, fashion, events, and wellness. 

Because I recorded this episode in the evening, and even though I told everyone to be quiet, my son gets a little overexcited during his PlayStation gaming session - apologies for that! 

Go grab your cuppa, and settle in as I chat to Zee.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:47 Childhood and Cultural Identity

05:26 Writing 'Finding Serendipity'

08:18 Food and Cultural Fusion

11:46 Sri Lankan Literature Recommendations

16:52 Pilgrimage to The Gambia and Sri Lanka

21:52 Exploring the Ga Literary Festival

24:03 The Fusion Brand: Boabab

24:28 The Mission of Boabab

28:11 The Supper Club Experience

30:14 Perfect Dinner Party Menu

33:51 Favourite Sri Lankan and West African Restaurants and Future Plans

Finding Serendipity

Baobab 

Diet Paratha 

Usha Jey

Zee’s restaurant picks

Sri Lankan restaurants

Kolamba

Rambutan 

Machan Kitchen

West African Restaurants 

Monica’s Restaurant, Deptford

Papa L’s Kitchen

Zee’s guide to getting started with Sri Lankan literature 

Ameena Hussein 

Ashok Ferry 

Carl Muller 

Nayomi Munaweera

Saraid de Silva

Shehan Karunatilaka

Shyam Selvadurai

Sonali Deraniyagala 

V. V. Ganeshananthan 

In this episode of Tea with Tooting Mama, I’m talking to Laura Hicks about her remarkable life story, starting at age 17 with her battle against a rare form of bone cancer. She discusses how her illness led to a deep passion for cooking, taking part in MasterChef. 

Laura is a dual heritage British Sri Lankan. We talk about how this affected her growing up, how she brought Sri Lankan food to Masterchef, and how this experience led her to a career in food and reconnecting with her Sri Lankan Dutch Burgher heritage. Laura has done a lot to showcase Sri Lankan food on mainstream TV, but this wasn’t without controversy as trolls questioned her right to identify herself as Sri Lankan.

Laura highlights the influence of her family's hundred-year-old cookbook, created by four generations of women, the challenges of balancing motherhood with her restaurant career, and how she hopes to publish her family’s cookbook. 

At the time of recording, Laura was pregnant with her third child. I’m delighted to say Laura has since given birth to her gorgeous son, Billy Hynes.

00:00 Introduction and Early Life

00:18 Battling Cancer at 17

00:54 Chemotherapy and Its Aftermath

01:27 Discovering a Love for Food

03:16 Journey to MasterChef

04:04 MasterChef Experience

06:57 Sri Lankan Heritage and Family

09:06 Identity and Cultural Challenges

12:31 The Hundred-Year-Old Cookbook

13:23 Exploring the Family Cookbook

13:51 Generational Cooking Stories

14:12 Diverse Culinary Heritage

15:27 MasterChef and Culinary Career

16:10 Supper Clubs and Popups

19:40 Balancing Family and Career

21:50 Favourite Sri Lankan Dishes

24:52 Nostalgic Restaurant Memories

25:58 Future Plans and Aspirations

Laura Hicks Instagram

The Scrandit

The Kandyan, Bristol

Beach Wadiya

Grab my free guide to Sri Lankan cooking, and join the Tooting Mama community by signing up for my weekly newsletter here.

Find my recipes here.

Check out my Instagram here

Never miss a single episode by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and tell your friends about Tea with Tooting Mama and my Stubstack Tooting Mama.

In this episode of Tea with Tooting Mama, I welcome Mehala Ford, the founder of the Friday Sari Project.

We talk about how we first met at Mehala's unique concept store in Dulwich, which showcased innovative clothing and jewellery from contemporary designers in India and Sri Lanka.

Mehala shares her journey of rediscovering her Sri Lankan heritage, which inspired her to create the Friday Sari Project, a platform dedicated to promoting contemporary South Asian fashion and culture.

We dive into topics such as the significance of Tropical Modernism in Sri Lankan architecture, the burgeoning creative scene in Sri Lanka, and the intersection of ethical fashion and sustainability.

Mehala discusses her plans for the Friday Sari Project and her focus on promoting ethically conscious, craft-oriented designs.

We also explore Sri Lanka's vibrant and health-conscious food culture. Mehala shares some of her recent food discoveries, the brunch she would prepare for friends, and her favourite Sri Lankan restaurant.

We wrap up the episode by looking ahead to the future of the Friday Sari Project and its role in bridging South Asian traditions with contemporary global culture.

Go grab your cuppa and let's talk fashion, sustainability, and food.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:33 The Friday Sari Project: Origins and Inspirations

01:32 Exploring Tropical Modernism and Cultural Reconnection

07:27 The Concept Store and Modern South Asian Design

14:27 Sustainability and Ethical Fashion in Sri Lanka

22:40 Food and Fashion: A Fusion of Cultures

31:42 Future Plans and Final Thoughts

Fashion and culture

Friday Sari Project

Arc en Ciel

Barefoot and Barbara Sansoni

Beerlu Lace 

Cherub

Geoffery Bawa

Kur

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

Old Railway

Rice and Carry

Sri Lankan Design Festival

Restaurants Sri Lanka

Cafe Kumbuk

Dine and Sip

Galle Face Hotel 

Life’s Good Kitchen

Seed Cafe 

Restaurants London

Rambutan

Kolamba

Oru Space

Hopper classes and spice blends

Hop & Roll

Grab my free guide to Sri Lankan cooking, and join the Tooting Mama community by signing up for my weekly newsletter here.

Find my recipes here.

Check out my Instagram here

Never miss a single episode by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts,Spotify, and tell your friends about Tea with Tooting Mama and my Stubstack Tooting Mama.

Our family gatherings with the small clutch of relatives we had in the U.K. would always happen on a Sunday.  

That gave my parents enough time for a round trip to the Sri Lankan grocery store to stock up on curry leaves, and a big bunch of fresh coriander, a bundle of garlic and ginger, Maldive fish, and cheaper-than-the-supermarket vegetables.  

And enough time for my mum to make the chicken curry, pork curry, aubergine curry, green beans, cabbage mallung, dhal, white rice, and yellow rice. And probably devilled potatoes.  

Standard fare for a Sunday family gathering.  

Once we’d piled all the food on our plates, sat and devoured, us kids were swept upstairs to play while the grown-ups sat in the living room to sort out Sri Lankan politics.  

Inevitably, the conversation would drift towards food—how great our collective mothers and aunties were at cooking, how the food was so much better than the restaurants we frequented in the late ’70s and ’80s. Wouldn’t it be great if we opened a restaurant? Perhaps not realising that those restaurants weren’t aimed at skilled and knowledgeable home cooks but at people who just wanted a basic bhuna and a beer.  

In my podcast, I am talking to Vibushan Thirukumar, the co-founder of Oru Space, and this recollection is something we touched on—the first generation’s immigrant desire to set up a restaurant to showcase their food.  

I remember this conversation coming up time and time again in my family. But, of course, come Monday, we were back at school, my dad and uncles were back at work, and mothers and aunties were back in the kitchen.  

But Vibushan not only opened a restaurant, Trincos, inspired by his Sri Lankan heritage, he also co-founded Oru Space, a co-working space with wellness and community at its heart.  

In this episode of Tea with Tooting Mama, Vibushan shares his journey from arriving in the U.K. as a Sri Lankan refugee to establishing a successful co-working and wellness concept in East Dulwich and Sutton.  

He discusses his early life challenges, educational journey, and career shift from accounting to entrepreneurship. He delves into the inspiration behind Oru Space, the integration of his Sri Lankan heritage, and the impact of his family’s experiences.  

Our conversation also covers his venture failures that led to his eventual success, his innovative approach to business, and the plans for Oru Space.  

00:00 Introduction to Vibhishan Thirukumar and Oru Space

00:47 Vibhishan's Early Life and Education

01:52 Struggles and Career Shifts

07:36 Finding Passion in Retail

08:55 Transition to Accountancy

10:52 The Birth of Oru Space

15:43 Challenges and Adventures in Sri Lanka

23:21 A Dangerous Encounter in Trincomalee

24:11 Abandoning the Sri Lanka Project

24:29 Starting Fresh in London

26:13 Incorporating Wellness into Coworking

28:24 The Birth of Trinco Restaurant

28:46 Reflecting Heritage in Oru Space

37:19 Expanding OruSpace to Sutton

38:31 Future Plans and Community Focus

* Oru Space

* Rambutan

* Everest Curry King

* That Jay Rayner Review 

Grab my free guide to Sri Lankan cooking, and join the Tooting Mama community by signing up for my weekly newsletter here.

Find my recipes here.

Check out my Instagram here

Never miss a single episode by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts,Spotify, and tell your friends about Tea with Tooting Mama and my Stubstack Tooting Mama.

Tooting Mama is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

In this episode, I talk to Mahesha Rice, a Reiki master and EFT practitioner, to unravel her incredible journey from a happy childhood in Sri Lanka to a new life in France. 

At the age of six, Mahesha made a life-changing decision that led to her adoption by an aunt in France.  She faced many challenges, including language barriers, cultural differences. Mahesha's story is a profound testament to resilience and determination. 

Mahesa was incredibly brave opening up to me about her life story, and I really wanted to hold space for Mahesha as we talked about her past. 

Throughout our conversation, Mahesha shares candid memories of her childhood, the difficulties of feeling isolated, the abuse she faced and the ways in which she found hope and inner strength through building a network of friends who supported her..

Mahesha’s story is one of resilience, determination, and searching for hope when  you think there is none, and finding the light.

The episode also touches on her passion for Sri Lankan cuisine, highlighted by her cookbook on simple Sri Lankan recipes. 

As a trigger warning, this episode includes discussions about abuse. 

Join us for an inspiring story of hope, healing, and finding light in the darkest of times.

00:00 Introduction to Mahisha Rice

01:23 Early life in Sri Lanka

02:55 The decision to move to France

06:20 Adjusting to a new life

12:02 Building resilience and finding support

20:04 Healing and embracing therapy

30:30 Writing and cooking 

34:45 Future plans and final thoughts

Tooting Mama Substack

Mahesha Rice website

Reiki and EFT Tapping   

Mahesha’s cookbook

Mahesha’s restaurant recommendations

Colombo 16

Moonstone

In this podcast episode, I interview Tasha Marikkar about her new cookbook, Jayaflava, which dives into the rich and diverse world of Sri Lankan cuisine. 

I loved talking to Tasha who shares her passion for Sri Lanka food, our legendary aunties of Sri Lankan cooking and the unique blend of heritage, ethnicity, and religion that is reflected in Sri Lankan food.

Tasha tells me how she selected 80 recipes out of 200, shares her favorite places to eat in Sri Lanka and the UK, discusses the cultural significance of dishes like ribbon cake and how Felix Buxton of the band Basement Jaxx helped inspire the cookbook’s title: Jayaflava.

Tasha also hints at an upcoming TV series that will further explore Sri Lankan culinary traditions.

00:00 Introduction to Tasha Marrikar and her cookbook

00:31 A deep dive into into Sri Lankan cuisine

01:30 Tasha's background and family heritage

03:14 Exploring the diversity of Sri Lankan food

05:30 The journey of writing Jayaflava

10:48 Choosing Jayaflava’s rockstar recipes

21:14 Fusion recipes

23:48 Tasha's dinner party and restaurant recommedations

28:01 Upcoming projects and where to buy Jayaflava

You can buy Jayaflava here.

Tasha’s favourite restaurants in Sri Lanka and the UK

Sri Lanka 

* Gini

* Ministry of Crab

* Renuka City Hotel

* Smoke and Bitters

London

* Hoppers

* Jaffna House 

* Rambutan

* Paradise Soho

Grab my free guide to Sri Lankan cooking, join the Tooting Mama community by signing up for my weekly newsletter here. 

Find my recipes here. 

Check out my Instagram here

Never miss a single episode by subscribing to the podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify and tell your friends about Tea with Tooting Mama and my Stubstack Tooting Mama 

Why not take a screenshot of the podcast and post it on your  Instagram stories and let’s spread the word about this podcast and the fantastic stores we have to share within the Sri Lankan community.