Sri Lankan Food Festival in Israel

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Israel and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in collaboration with the Hotel Sheraton Tel Aviv organised the first ever authentic Sri Lankan culinary festival in Israel from 7 to 18 May. 

The event was successfully inaugurated on 7 May at the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel amidst a gathering of the members of the Diplomatic Corps, food bloggers, Israeli dignitaries, media representatives etc. The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo sent two guest chefs who prepare the delicious Sri Lankan food during the festival.

The purpose of the food festival was to project the taste of Sri Lankan fine cuisine to the Israeli people and thereby promote tourism from Israel to Sri Lanka. 

Ambassador Selvaraj Periyasamy Pillai welcomed the dignitaries and briefed the audience about the beauty of Sri Lanka, its diverse nature and the central feature of Sri Lankan cuisines. In his speech, he said that the diverse Sri Lanka food culture is one of the main features which reflects the cultural harmony and vibrancy of Sri Lanka. He further elaborated on the ancient historical roots of Sri Lanka, its rich culture and other aspects which make Sri Lanka so unique and a satisfying holiday destination. He also noted that the Israeli tourism is a thriving market and the number of Israeli tourists visiting Sri Lanka had increased by 34% in 2016 compared to the previous year.

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Junior Manager (Public Relations Division) Chaminda Munasinghe highlighted the importance of the culinary tourism promotion and screened a short documentary on Sri Lanka and the tourists’ attraction sites. 

The hotel lobby was attractively decorated with the Sri Lankan national flags, Sri Lankan maps. The Olive restaurant in the hotel was also decorated with the Sri Lankan pictures, handicraft items, tourism and cultural artefacts depicting the beauty of Sri Lanka, its diversity and heritage which was highly fascinating. 

Ambassador Selvaraj thanked the unstinted support extended by the management of the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel, especially Executive Assistant Manager Patrick Mudalege, Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau Public Relations Manager Jane Yacoubzadi and the management of the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo for organising this successful event. He further appreciated the contribution of Executive Sous Chef Illeperuma Arachchige Don Kamal Surendrajith and Junior Sous Chef MadasamiIyadurai of the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo for their dedicated work to prepare the Sri Lankan authentic food.

Jerusalem Post throws spotlight on Lankan cuisine

 JP: Continuing its commendable decision to showcase different cuisines, the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel is now offering a Sri Lankan festival, which will run until 20 May.

Sri Lankan Ambassador Selvaraj Periyasamy Pillai invited guests to a dinner consisting of typical Sri Lankan ingredients and, at the champagne reception, showed a film that presented some of the tourist attractions of the beautiful island in the Indian Ocean that he represents here. 

Relations between Israel and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon and a British Crown Colony until 1948) have had their ups and downs since the two countries exchanged ambassadors in 1957, but at the present time they are definitely on an up. Trade and tourism thrive, many Sri Lankan citizens live in Israel as caregivers and at the time of the tsunami disaster last year, Israel sent a large aid package to the stricken island.

And so to the dinner. The first course was chicken Ambulthuyal, a maki roll of soft rice filled with pieces of chicken covered in a dark spice. It was accompanied by a crisp vegetable cutlet and a mound of diced vegetables described as “country-style”, which were lightly pickled and sweet. Everything on the plate was pleasantly spicy, although it was difficult to say what spices they were.

The main course was Smore beef with spicy sauce, with a small oval shaped ball in which one could detect some chopped yellow pepper. The yellow rice timbale was nicely al dente. The beef Smore, a traditional Sri Lankan dish, was a fillet steak in a very good sauce made from red wine and coconut milk.

The dessert was a coconut treacle pancake with kalu dodol and passion sauce. Kalu dodol is a Sri Lankan dessert made from the sap of the toddy palm called kithul jaggery, with rice flour and coconut milk. This makes it a real parve dessert and not an adaptation from something dairy. The sauce was made from passion fruit.

The red wine which flowed abundantly throughout the evening was the Teperberg Red Blend, 2016, a pleasantly dry wine which cheered without inebriating, like a good cup of tea. (Source: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Sri-Lanka-at-the-Sheraton-490456)