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....

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...

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...

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 uni...

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 bran...

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 Master...

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 Proj...

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 cur...

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...

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 r...

Sarah Baldwin is the founder of Serendip It’s a business inspired by Sarah’s love of travel, and a childhood spent living in several different countries including Sri Lanka.  The ethos of Sarah's business is to source artisan products that are handmade in Sri Lanka - and you’ll hear about the efforts Sarah goes to, to track down true artisan makers. In our conversation we talk about the brands Sar...

In this South Asian Heritage Month edition of Tea with Tooting Mama, I’m talking to Krisha Puwanarajah, the co-founder of MUVs ALL DAY. Originally MUVs started out as curries delivered to customers in jars, then became a cult supper club. Krish is now on her journey to transform MUVs.  We discuss why Krish started a food business, how she used food and stories to connect people to her Sri Lankan c...

In this South Asian Heritage Month edition of Tea with Tooting Mama, I’m talking to Thana Sivasambu, the founder of Ruci Foods. You may remember Thana from a previous episode of Tea with Tooting Mama . We discuss Thana's motivation for starting a food business, how she uses food to connect people to Sri Lankan culture and her heritage recipe. A recipe she loves and one she would want to pass on. ...

South Asian Heritage Month seeks to raise the profile and help people understand the richness and diversity of South Asian culture in Britain today.  The 2024 celebrations focus on the theme, free to be me. For this special edition of Tea with Tooting Mama I’m talking to the women behind the Sri Lankan Culture Collective: Rosh Olivelle, Thana Samasambu and Krish Puwanarajah. It’s a platform to sho...

Shownotes Ruci Foods Paradise Soho Rambutan MUVS ALLDAY Larry Jeyasekara Get full access to Tooting Mama at tootingmama.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Tea with Tooting Mama, I am joined by Dee Gibson, a highly sought-after British Sri Lankan interior designer.  We talked about a pivotal holiday in Sri Lanka that changed her life resulting in Dee becoming a hotelier through the creation of her boutique hotel, Kalukanda House, which has been featured in HIP Hotels and Conde Nast Traveller.  Kalulanda House is more than just a ho...