Experiential travel specialists Sri Lanka InStyle announce culinary tour with Kumar Pereira

In December this year and January 2013, the charismatic Kumar Pereira of Australian MasterChef and Allstars acclaim will re-visit his childhood home Sri Lanka, taking up to 12 lucky people on an incredible culinary journey designed and curated by the country’s experts in experiential travel, SriLankaInStyle.

Kumar, originally a design teacher from Sydney, was among the 12 finalists in season three of Masterchef Australia, and also one of the show’s oldest contestants at 62, becoming a surprise hit of the show.

According to SriLankaInStyle CEO Miguel Cunat, guests will experience personal cooking demonstrations with Kumar and classes from other top Sri Lankan chefs as they visit cultural sites, and stay in the most beautiful boutique hotels throughout the 12 night/13 day itinerary.

The culinary tour costs will take place between 1 to 13 December and from 12 to 24 January 2013. The tour includes accommodation at the Wallawwa, Heritance Kandalama, Earls Regency, The Tea Factory, The Sun House and a final night at the Galle Face Hotel, plus guided visits to Sigiriya, Dambulla cave temples, The Temple of the Tooth, Kandy Royal Botanical Gardens, tea factories, the Galle Fort, a spice garden and cinnamon plantation.  

Cunat explained, “The culinary tour begins in Negombo where guests will visit local markets to source ingredients with Kumar. They then take part in ‘master-classes’ to learn the secrets to Sri Lankan cooking.

“From here they travel to the heart of the country, and under the backdrop of the 5th century Sigiriya rock fortress, they will walk through herb gardens and learn about the ayurvedic properties of local cuisine.

“We’ve encompassed many of the island’s distinctive landscapes, including a session on cinnamon cultivation, a roasting house tour in Kandy, a scenic train ride through the emerald tea country and a drive down to Galle to explore the ramparts before rounding it off back in Colombo.”

Throughout the journey, guests will take part in classes and demonstrations from other top Sri Lankan chefs, as well as listen to Kumar’s stories of growing up on such an inspirational island. Born in Sri Lanka, Kumar spent the 1950s and 1960s growing up in Sri Lanka. His passion to cook started when his mother came home from a trip broad with a pasta machine.

Kumar then went on to study typographic design at the London College of Printing. After working in London he lived in Hong Kong for 18 years, working with studios and agencies, and teaching graphic design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. In 1983 he started his own design consultancy specialising in corporate graphics and publishing design.  He has designed many award winning publications including Discovery (Cathay Pacific inflight magazine), Pacific (American Express card members’ magazine) and Serendib (the magazine of SriLankan Airlines). SriLankaInStyle was born in 2004 as a loose association for small luxury hotels, villas and service operators in Sri Lanka. In 2005 the company set up a travel arm to handle incoming travelers to Sri Lanka.  Today, SriLankaInStyle is firmly established as one of the leading travel companies in Sri Lanka and is the local partner for some of the world’s top travel specialists and private travel designers. For more information visit www.srilankainstyle.com