CHENNAI: For one of his supper clubs, Mavisha Ramachandran decided to bring together two dishes that reflect his family’s journey. He topped Sri Lankan kothu parotta with crispy poricha parotta from Dindigul, where his ancestors once lived before moving to Sri Lanka. “Sri Lanka is known for kothu parotta and Dindigul for poricha parotta. Combining them felt natural. The dish tells a story about family and the connections that exist between our food traditions.”
Mavisha has been hosting supper clubs centred on Sri Lankan cuisine and its lesser-known regional food traditions over two decades. Through intimate dining experiences held in Chennai and other cities, he introduces guests not only to dishes from the island nation but also to the histories and people behind them.
His food journey began with a longing for home. “I always enjoyed cooking, but I really got into it when
I moved to the US for my Master’s degree. I missed Sri Lankan food and started cooking many of the dishes I grew up eating. That is when I became much more interested in cooking.”
After returning to Chennai for work, he found himself spending more time in the kitchen. In 2023, he started preparing takeaway meal boxes once every month. For six months, customers signed up for home-style Sri Lankan meals that were difficult to find elsewhere. “The response was good. People really liked the food and many of them wanted to know more about the dishes.”
The success of the meal boxes led to his first supper club in September 2024. Organised in collaboration with Hanu Reddy Residences in Chennai, the event featured a nine-course Sri Lankan dinner. “That was the first proper supper club I did and it really set everything in motion. People were interested not just in eating the food but also in hearing the stories behind it,” he recalls.
Since then, Mavisha has hosted supper clubs in India and has taken the concept to audiences in Europe and the United States. Through his events, he explores the links between Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines, tracing how migration, trade and cultural exchanges have shaped food traditions on both sides. “We try to talk about how a dish was created and why it became important to a community. Those stories are just as interesting as the food itself,” he tells DT Next.
His interest in these narratives has taken him across Sri Lanka. Last November, he travelled around the country for nearly 20 days with a group of chefs and food enthusiasts. The group worked with home cooks and culinary experts, documenting recipes and learning about regional food traditions. “We learned so much during that trip. Some recipes have been passed down within families for generations and are not widely known outside those communities.”
The journey inspired several new dishes and stories that later appeared at his supper clubs. One of them was Point Pedro Vadai from northern Sri Lanka. “It was created because it could stay fresh for around 15 days. When you learn something like that, you start understanding the circumstances in which food was created.”
For the youngster, food is also deeply personal. Some dishes bring back memories of childhood. One such creation was a Kurakkan Basque cheesecake made with finger millet, known as Kurakkan in Sri Lanka. “When I tasted it, it reminded me of the biscuit pudding I used to eat when I was younger. Sometimes a flavour can immediately take you back to a particular memory,” he smiles.
Among the dishes that regularly appear on his menus are roast paan, a rustic Sri Lankan bread often served with mutton curry, and jackfruit curry, both of which have become favourites among guests. Along with stories and meals, guests often leave with recipes they can recreate at home, extending the experience beyond a single evening. “Every dish has a story behind it. Sometimes it comes from history, sometimes from a personal memory. I think when people understand those stories, they connect with the food in a completely different way,” concludes the chef.