Jetwing's tour of Sri Lanka's culinary arts

In the pearl shaped island of Sri Lanka one can encounter a diverse and splendid array of tantalizing food ranging from scrumptious seafood to the traditional rice and curry.'

Jetwing Hotels is offering a vacation built around the culinary arts. Created for the gourmet-travel enthusiast, Jetwings Culinary Tour is an ideal way by which the discerning traveller can immerse in the history and the ethos of Sri Lanka, its people and their customs and of course most importantly their food.

Sri Lankan spices.

Jetwings Culinary Tour seeks to provide food connoisseurs with a fortnight's holiday spent in varied exotic locations sampling and actively participating in the excitingly delicious food-fare that the island has to offer.

The first three days will be spent at Jetwing Beach situated among the sun-kissed beaches and palm tree gardens of the western coastal town of Negombo. It is a luxurious and romantic setting within a town which has a history of fishing and a reputation for providing the best seafood in the region.

Lobsters, amberjack and pomfret are delectable dishes that make up the menu at Jetwing Beach which will undoubtedly satisfy the traveller's palette.

The tour will commence with breakfast by the pool-side with the Executive Chef Priyantha Weerasingha who will introduce topics such as 'Spices' and 'Coconut' with ease and enthusiasm, helping gourmet 'wannabes' become better acquainted with Sri Lanka's culinary secrets.

The stay in Negombo will culminate with a visit to a 'Lellama' - the Negombo Fish Market, where guests can pick up fish of their choice and thereafter indulge to their hearts delight in an afternoon cookery class on seafood dishes with the chef.

The Culinary Tour then heads towards the environs of the Southern coastal town of Galle which is full of the ambience of its Dutch Colonial predecessors.

En-route to Galle, the tour will visit the home of the world-renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa where, the Executive Chef of Jetwing Lighthouse, Galle, Nihal Senanayake will host a talk on 'Breadfruit and Jackfruit'.

At the Lighthouse, guests can wake up to a morning visit to the town's vegetable and fruit markets. There will be a special cooking class on rice and curry (curries being the more appropriate word as there will be a wide range of cooking expertise - from chicken curry to gotukola sambol.)

On the final day in Galle a visit to another hotel located close by, Jetwing Kurulubedda, will enthrall new cooking experts with a fascinating lesson on the art of cooking milk rice or kiri bath with its famous side dishes of ambul thiyal, pollos curry and lunu miris.

Spend the next two nights on the charming hills of Nuwara Eliya in the bungalow hotel, Jetwing Warwick Gardens.

A safe haven of solitude, the hotel is situated among lush mountaintops and a cool climate which makes for a perfect getaway from the bustle of the coast. As guests enjoy Pink Guava and Black Pepper Caipirinha they can talk about 'Pepper' with the bungalow manager and enjoy a 'Planter's Roast' dinner which is reminiscent of a by-gone era of British colonial rule. Cooking lessons in the mountains will conjure up long-lost homemade recipes on Chutney and Jam making as well as Goat Cheese making.