Galle Biryani Festival starts today

Galle’s first biryani festival will kick off today (Friday), organised by Gourmet Galle, and the event will run over the entire weekend finishing its activities only on Sunday.

Starting from Friday, each participating hotel/restaurant will showcase its unique, featured biryani disk at its own location. Participants and their featured dishes are as follows: Amangalla – Risotto; The Elysium Collection – Fish and Prawn Biryani; Fort Printers – Pakistani Biryani; The Crescent Club – Vegetarian Biryani; The Lighthouse – Mutton, Chicken and Fish Biryanis; Cape Weligama – Lamprais; Sun House – H yderbadi Dum Chicken Biryani and Mulligatawny; Dutch House – Fish Biryani and a Rice Pudding; Dick’s Bar – Hopper Biryani; Taprobane Island – Lamprais; Seafare – Mutton and Seafood Biryani; The Tuna and Crab – Sushi; and Pedlar Street Cafe – Mutton and Seafood Biryani.

Additionally, on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., each hotel/restaurant will be hosting a biryani stand in the Law Courts Square in Galle, which will also include live music and a licensed bar dispensing wines, beers and ciders.

On Saturday evening, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., the festival will shift to the Governor’s Residence on Upper Dickson Road, where each hotel will again have a tent, with sunset cocktails, fireworks, live music and a licensed bar also on offer.

Galle’s first biryani festival will culminate on Sunday with a cooking school run by celebrity chef Rachel Allen, at the Kingfisher in Unawatuna from 11 a.m. onwards. Rachel’s program has only limited spots available so make it there early, with the cost for the lesson being Rs. 3,500 only.