Private Cooking Class - Personalized menu with glutenfree & vegan

Recommended by 100% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Sri Lanka

3 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Sample Menu

Starter

Starter, Tradirional snack, Herbal drink

the session starts with preparing a traditional snack or starter that makes you feel comfortable during the class.

Main

Milk Rice (Kiribath)

Milk rice is a traditional specialty food made for breakfast. A blend of rice & coconut milk makes this delicious dish. often taken with chilly paste

Main

String hoppers, Hoppers, Rotti, Pittu

String hoppers (Idiyappam) , Hoppers (Aappe) Rotti and Pittu are most popular options for breakfast/dinner in Sri Lanka. well accompanied with curries

Dessert

Traditional snacks and sweets

Preparation of following authentic Sri Lankan snacks/sweets are offered in our class. Halepe, Walitalepe and Laveria and many others upon request

Main

Kottu

Even though Kottu is not a Sri Lankan traditional dish, we prepare Kottu on request due to its large popularity.

Main

Black Curries

Chicken, Fish or Jack fruit black curry (Jack fruit curry for Vegan lovers)

Main

White Curry variations

Lentils, Potato, Tomato white curries made with Coconut Milk

Main

Salads

Vegetable Salads in Traditional Sri Lankan way

Main

Sri Lankan Tempered curry

Tempered potato in Sri Lankan Traditional way

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
Private transportation

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Pick up from your hotel and drop off to the hotel after the cooking class by host himself is included

Arranged start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

01/02/2022 - 05/05/2027
Monday - Sunday : 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Coco_C

Such a great experience! learn the secrets of Sri Lankan cuisine and the history behind the dishes. The host was incredibly kind and made us feel right at home. Highly recommend for any foodies visiting ella

Reviews

5.0

based on 113 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

My husband and I had a...

Gemma_A, Mar 2026

My husband and I had a lovely evening at Sithara's home. We learned a lot about how to cook different and delicious Sri Lankan dishes. And we're looking forward to cooking the recipes at home.

highlight of our trip

Coco_C, Feb 2026

Response from Host, Mar 2026

Dear Coco, Our cooking class experience is specially designed for foodies like you! We love to share our unique culinary knowledge and experience with the world, and thank you so much for sharing this message with others.💐

Great experience and would definitely recommend

Emma_S, Jan 2026

Great experience and would definitely recommend. We learnt some lovely recipes and methods, using all fresh ingredients. You are also provided with the recipes in PDF afterwards for everything which is helpful!

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Dear Emma, It was a great pleasure to host you.Thank you so much for the great review..!💐

Outstanding. Do not miss this one.

Stuart_Y, Dec 2025

OMG . What a find. Sithara and Upali are wonderful hosts in their family home showing us how to cook a 10 course dinner on Christmas Day no less. We got to make everything from roti to four curries and even string hoppers (easier than you think) We ate dinner with them and our hosts were delightful, warm and so generous with their stories, time and shared recipes. We’ll be having a Sri Lankan feast when get home to NZ. Highly recommend.

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Dear Stuart, Thank you so much for selecting our place to spend your christmas day evening .It was a great pleasure to host you.💐

Wonderful experience learning traditional Sri Lankan dishes with an extremely welcoming family

Chloe_R, Nov 2025

This was a fantastic experience. Sithara and her family have a wonderful home, and they take time to make you feel welcome and comfortable while learning many different Sri Lankan dishes. The food tasted amazing (we also split out several dishes to accommodate allergies), and we had great conversation over dinner. Also a super cute cat! And Sithara and her husband dropped us home too! We would highly recommend to anyone 😍 Thank you so much!

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Dear Chloe, It was so lovely hosting you. We will cherish the memories of your visit forever. Thank you so much for visiting us and for the great review. Lots of love from our kitty cat too💐

Would recommend without hesitation for traditional cooking and a flavour sensation

Nick_R, Nov 2025

We had a wonderful homely experience from our pick-up to a warm welcome with tea to experiencing a wide variety of dishes with personal touches adjusted to our requirements and requests. Throughout our time we learnt about traditional Sri Lankan cooking and culture, the hosts were also able to teach us about Buddhism in more detail. At the end of the class, we received loads of photos and videos to capture the day, alongside all the recipes for us to make at home. We would recommend this class 100% without any hesitation.

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Dear Nick, It was a great pleasure hosting you. We had such an amazing time with you, and the technique I learned from you to make waday is really wonderful. Now I’m using it all the time! Thank you so much for visiting us and for the great review.

Sweet valley cooking class in Ella

Lisa_K, Oct 2025

The pick up service is very helpful as ella is a very spreadout town. The cooking class is exceptional, the knowledge and techniques show to us were doable and sometjing we will use bavk home, sithara and her family were very welcoming as this class is in their home. A wonderful experience we would highly recommend:)

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Dear Liza, It was so nice hosting you.Thank you so much for visiting us and your great review.💐

The most amazing toy of our trip to Sri Lanka

Renee_J, Feb 2025

Upali and Sithara were the most accommodating and gracious hosts we have experienced. They opened their home to us and went above and beyond to accommodate for our dietary requirements and even had additional foods for our 4 year old son to enjoy. They were extremely punctual with hotel pickup and very quick to reply to any enquiries we had and they are so kind and knowledgeable. You can tell they do this out of pure love and passion of sharing their culture, food and home. We cannot rate their cooking class highly enough and would hands down recommend this class to anyone wanting an authentic and private home style cooking experience. Definitely a highlight of our time in Sri Lanka!

Response from Host, Feb 2025

Dear Renee, Lucas, and little Cooper, You all brought so much happiness to our home. It was a great pleasure for us to host you. We had a great time together, and it was worth every minute. We hope to see you again someday. Thank you so much for the great review.💐

Highly Recommended Wonderful Experience

Helen_B, Nov 2024

Great to share this experience in a Sri Lankan home with our wonderful hosts. The hosts were very knowledgeable about the herbs and spices used in the traditional style of Sri Lankan cooking. They were very thorough and excited to be teaching us the techniques. The dishes were absolutely delicious. We were picked up from on time from our accommodation and received a video and recipes afterwards.

Response from Host, Nov 2024

Dear Helen and Jenny, We were honored to host you. It was truly an amazing experience, and we really enjoyed sharing knowledge about our two different culinary cultures. Thank you so much for visiting us and for the lovely review.

Enriching, informative, and TASTY!

Stephen_G, Jan 2024

From the moment we were picked up to the moment we were dropped off, time just flew. Upali and Sitthara are very gracious hosts. They showed us amazing hospitality, tailoring the experience to our preferences, and never made it feel rushed or transactional. They take joy in showing and sharing people authentic Sri Lankan culinary culture, and their knowledge and expertise is quite deep. They are extremely thorough, and sent us the recipes afterwards. This experience stands out as one of the best experiences of our whole trip. We will carry it with us forever. Can't recommend it enough.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Dear Christiene It was such a fun evening we spent with you! We cherished every moment. You two are such adventurous eaters, and it was so much fun sharing our culinary culture with you. Thank you so much for visiting us and we really love to see you again 💐

Unbedingt wieder! Toller Kochkurs!

LaraJoy_H, Jan 2025

Der Kochkurs bei Sithara und ihrem Mann war super toll. Sithara und ihr Mann haben leckere traditionelle sri lankanische Gerichte mit uns gekocht und anschließend im netten Ambiente verzehrt. Beide waren immer darauf bedacht, dass wir alles verstehen beim Kochen und mit Unterstützung selbstständig umsetzen konnten. Beide waren super freundlich. Ich würde definitiv dort erneut einen Kochkurs buchen! Mega tolle Erfahrung!!! Dankeschön für diesen schönen und lehrreichen Abend mit euch. Das Essen kochen wir definitiv in Deutschland nach. :D

Unvergesslicher Abend

Carina_K, Jul 2024

Die Gastfreundschaft von Sithara und Upali war grossartig! Die Zeit verging wie in Nu, wir haben viel über die einheimische Küche gelernt und schöne Gespräche geführt!

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Dear Araia and Andrina, Thank you so much for visiting us.It was an amazing evening we had with such a lovely couple like you.We are so glad to host you.💐