Market Tour + Hands-On Colombo Cooking Class

I didn’t have the experience of going because it was cancelled on me after I had stayed up late into early morning (2am) to make sure that they contact me for “meeting location”. Mind you, I had booked this tour days ago, and extended my stay in Colombo specifically for it. Well, finally, it was a text “very bad emergency” with no specific explanation. I m not sure if I believe the story because another cooking tour also had canceled on me for SIMILAR REASON. And both AT THE VERY LAST MINUTE. My extra stay for these tours and now I have nothing to do, just a waste of my time and expenses because I had already done other tours and it is a Sunday, a day of rest & family time. Most everything closes. suspect that they cancelled on me because I m going solo and they have found more people to fill a group. More money for them at my expense. These operators are not reliable! Why not just close the tour for not enough participants before anyone can book & set their plans. Why fabricate a story. “Mom/dad in the hospital”, “Brother’s hurt”, “bad emergency”… less harmful karma, just to be honest. I am not being uncharitable nor uncaring, but one similar story after another after long avoided-communications / “ghosting”, one has to question. I am very angry because my plans basically ruin and I feel like I am being make a fool off or duped . If it is true that their loved ones are sick, a bad emergency,… I pray that everything is well and their gods are watching over them.

We wanted to book this experience directly but did not get a response via email or WhatsApp, so instead booked on TripAdvisor. Two days before the date, the operator cancelled our booking but messaged to say we could still join the tour by paying cash (note for budgeting). We thought this was a group activity, but it was private, just us two and Nim at his house approx 40min out of the city. The market tour was interesting and all the vendors were very friendly. It was very busy due to the upcoming new year. Cooking was hands on, with time for story telling and beer breaks; the experience went from 8:45am-4:45pm (including driving time) and we ate at 3pm (we expected to finish at 12:30 or so, but luckily we hadn't booked anything afterwards). The decor and styling was very intsa-worthy. The transfer from the hotel was included for us but return was not; Nim arranged a PickMe driver as our app wasn't working, and we paid them cash directly.

Nim is an exceptional chef, and a fun teacher! The market tour was packed with cultural insights and information about local produce, as well as being a former chef, Nim also is a food producer and looks after a farm - and so is exceptionally knowledgeable when it comes to produce. The cooking lesson is set in a beautiful relaxed environment a little out of the hustle and bustle of the comercial district, we had a leisurely cooking session making rotis and currys and sharing food stories. Already at home we are making sri lankan food and carry with us the values of using fresh ingredients!

We had a magical first day in Sri Lanka at the market, learning about the cuisine and culture of Sri Lanka. Our guide showed us and explained all the flavors that make the food in Sri Lanka so special. And we cooked an incredible meal , with great explanation so we now can make roti and curry back home. I highly recommend this experience!

I was lucky enough to book a culinary experience with Rustic Cooking Class in Colombo on my trip to Sri Lanka and I’m so glad I made that choice. I met the wonderful Nim at the markets who took me on a culinary food and culture experience , introducing me to a world of amazing ingredients I’d never come across before. Nim is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to food and he took the time to explain the fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices of Sri Lanka, how they were cooked and how they complemented each other. I learnt so much from him. Once we had decided on our meal options and bought the ingredients we took a tuk tuk to his wonderful home where we set to work preparing an authentic feast. Those dishes became my favourite meal in Sri Lanka which was a big call as I was in the country for a month and tried a lot of food! What I loved most about the experience was sitting on the verandah with Nim overlooking the lush gardens enjoying a beer and some great conversation. He’s such a lovely man and so knowledgeable on the food, culture and history of Sri Lanka. I highly recommend you do yourself a favour and book Rustic Cooking Class. It’s a fabulous authentic experience.

I had a great experience with going to the local market and cooking local dishes. Nim is a wonderful person. I learned so much about vegetables, fruits and all the spices and even about real and fake cinnamon :) and we talked about so much more than cooking and Sri Lanka - it felt like an afternoon/evening with a friend. Thank you so much for your time and introducing me how to cook a delicious pineapple and chicken curry, coconut sambol and coconut roti.

Amazing experience - as a solo traveller transport was organised by Tuk Tuk to the market location, about 40 minutes outside of Colombo. I was kept informed of the time and the details of the transportation. Met by Nim, who then guided us through an authentic local market - explaining local unusual fruit, vegetables and also about the importance of markets in the Sri Lankan lifestyle. We then was transported to Nim's lovely home where we participated in cooking - we made a wonderful Chicken Curry, a Jackfruit Curry, Pineapple and Banana Curry, along with Coconut Roti. Sitting on the verandah overlooking the lush garden, a cold drink (beer or water) with Nim telling us about Sri Lankan life, cooking, history and food. I really learnt so much. Nim is an excellent cooking guide, has great english, food and cultural knowledge and was great fun!!

+3

My wife and I had a wonderful time! We met our guide and Chef, Nim near a local market. We spent about an hour learning about the various fruits and vegetables available. Then each of us in our small group of three chose the fruit or vegetable that would be the base of our curry. Once decided we walked about adding the various necessary ingredients to our basket. After, we rode to the home that was perfectly set up for a cooking class. We spent the next couple of hours making roti and our curries. Then we feasted… a wonderful, authentic experience!

To add to yesterday’s review, we left our water cooler bottles at Nim’s, he organised a rider to come to our hotel Galle Face to deliver the water bottles. We thank him for the action of going that bit further.

A great day from start at the markets to finish driving away. Nim really impressed us in his sharing of his culinary knowledge and skills.

+6