Foods

Bakes By Thilushiya

For passionate baker Muruganandan Thilushiya, the Covid-19 pandemic gave her the opportunity to turn her passion to profit. Working a full-time job before lockdown, the restrictions gave Thilushiya the perfect opportunity and time to structure her home business and get baking. Thilushiya has followed a baking course in cake design in order to perfect her craft.

Feasty Gourmet Things

A Christmas venture that grew from a pop-up sale, Feasty is an artisanal food brand by Niasha Don Carolis. “I started Feasty a few Christmases ago at a pop-up sale, it has been slowly gathering momentum ever since. The pandemic set in straight after my accidental ‘launch’ and working from home, as I have a full-time job in the apparel sector, gave me a chance to develop Feasty and that is how the brand was born!”.

From Jaffna with love at Botanik Bistro Bar

Botanik Rooftop Bistro and Bar Located at the Fairway Colombo Hotel, will host home cook Thushara Innisathamby, the face behind the buzzing kitchen delivering authentic flavours of Jaffna, ‘My Sister’s Kitchen’

Food Studio

Chocolatier and chef, Gerard Mendis, partners with Coca-Cola to seek out the best food to enjoy with a refreshing, cold Coke. Join Gerard as he visits some of Colombo’s top restaurants and chats with their chefs. This week, Gerard visits one of Colombo’s food courts.

Bakes By Nishi

Successfully following a career in fashion and merchandising in the apparel industry, for Nishadi Tejwani baking was never really in the books until one experimental hand at baking brought successful results.

Tag me @danu - Bombay Borough Colombo

I was tagged by a page that’s buzzing with flavors, bringing the best of India. Everything about this place is amazing - the service, ambiance, and the very creative cocktails! I’m always amazed by the fact that they can get the food out in 5 to 7 minutes and they always make sure operations are smooth. I spoke to Aravind about what makes this place located at the One Galle Face mall click.

Lia’s Bakes

From baking as a simple hobby to starting a homemade business, Lia’s Bakes has rapidly grown since its inception. Aalia Junaid, the eighteen-year-old who continues to explore every nook and cranny of baking has cemented her brand on social media. Proud of her choux pastry, Aalia is a very talented baker who has also mastered the art of balancing her studies with her business.

Flayvors - An Unforgettable Sweet Tooth Experience!

Who doesn’t love Chocolate Biscuit Pudding (CBP)? That rich, silky smooth texture, a creamy chocolate glaze topped off with bite-sized chocolate chips, makes me salivate even think about it! Well, that’s exactly what you get when you visit the latest dessert destination in town, Flayvors!

Manju’s Bakerliciouz

A banker by profession, Manjula Hirdaramani moved back to Sri Lanka 3 years ago and embarked on a passion project – baking. Manju’s Bakerliciouz opened for business back in September 2019 and she’s been building a home-based venture ever since. “My youngest son came up with the name and logo to resonate with my personality and favourite colours! And now, with Manju’s Bakerliciouz, my banker to baker journey continues…”

Love is in the air at Galadari

The air will be filled with love this Valentine’s at the Galadari Colombo. The hotel is gearing towards making this special day unforgettable. Commencing 10th to 14th February 2022 Valentine’s goodies will be available at the Goodies Hut in the lobby as well as Café 64. Choose from a wide range of cakes, cookies, cupcakes, macaroons, and much more, all dedicated to the month of love.

Fernando’s Lamprais - Redefining the Lamprais Experience

For home business owner Ravin Fernando it’s all about family. Having worked in the hotel industry for the majority of his professional career, Ravin was one among thousands of people whose livelihood was affected due to the pandemic. But rather than worrying about it, Ravin decided to venture into building his own business with the help of his wife Meleshiya and the rest of his family. The result? “Fernando’s Lamprais”.

Podibakes

Inspired by her lack of a sweet tooth for desserts, Dasini Nimalsiri founded ‘Podibakes’, where baked goods are offered in bite-sized versions. Born during the beginning of the pandemic, Podibakes has grown to become a well-loved dessert stop by its customers!

’’Ammi’’ - A cookbook with heart, soul and a mother’s wisdom

“Ammi: An Expression Of Love… From The Kitchen Of My Mother Nirmala Pandarinathan” by Prasanna Pandarinathan is more than just another mundane cookbook in an overly saturated genre. Ammi is also a memoir peppered with reminiscences and tales of a bygone era; a cookbook that will pique your interest in food and tug at your heartstrings.

Sensational Savouries

A passionate cook, Fazla Fazuldeen has always been encouraged to start a home business by family and friends. “That is when I decided to start Sensational Savouries, by marrying my love and passion for cooking into a venture that offers high-quality delicious food made with love and with sensational goodness. My love for cooking began when I was young. I enjoyed cooking for my family and would try my hands at new recipes: this brought out my cre

Mongolian Street - New Year, New Beginnings

When I first visited Mongolian Street down Chitra Lane in 2021, Shevon told me how he hoped to move to a bigger and better location in a couple of years. Forget ’’a couple of years’’, in less than just one year, amidst a pandemic that brought many restaurants across the country to its knees, Shevon Perera and his Fiance Ronali Goonetileke the co-owners of Mongolian Street have expanded to a central and a much more prominent location.

Street Burger

From their humble beginnings as a street food truck to a popular burger joint with 3 locations, Street Burger has accumulated a cult following of fans who love their burgers, and for good reason. We were recently invited to try their burgers at their 3rd outlet in Mount Lavinia. Here’s what we thought.

Sweet Sensations

For sisters, Aysha Farook and Haleema Farook, their journey as home bakers started in 2014 at the tender ages of 12 and 16. Since then, they’ve seen their business flourish over the years and despite the many challenges of the pandemic, Sweet Sensations thrived during each lockdown. “We didn’t start off thinking that we would go this far, we were so passionate about baking, yet so young. We didn’t expect to flourish”.

Miris By Islandmom

Islandmom, Shivani A. Tyronne, started her home-based venture completely by chance when she experimented with a handful of naimiris at home. After her creation got popular among friends and orders started coming in, Miris by Islandmom was born. “Miris by Islandmom is to show that this is a brand that is done by a mom who loves her island and its bold flavours’’.

DISH IT OUT - WARNA HETTIARACHCHI

How do our food experts cook and eat? This week, nuclear physicist turned self-taught chef, Warna of @nukechef and the owner and executive chef of Dream Café & Bistro in Canada takes our Q&A!

QUARANTINE HOME BAKERS

In this series, we talk to people who turned their passion for food and baking into a business idea amidst lockdown and COVID-19 fears. Some have been in the market for years and others saw the new opportunity and took it! These home businesses are changing the game and have overcome the odds of running a business during quarantine.