Jaffna: The City Behind Our Food

Most people who know Sri Lankan food know the coconut curries and the hoppers. Fewer know that Sri Lanka's most distinctive food comes from its north, from a city called Jaffna, 250 miles from Colombo, separated by culture, language and cooking style. Jaffna is where our food comes from.

Where is Jaffna?

Jaffna is the main city of Sri Lanka's Northern Province, sitting at the very top of the island. It's predominantly Tamil, linguistically and culturally closer to South India than to Colombo, and that's reflected in the food. It's a city with its own distinct identity, its own recipes, its own way of cooking.

What makes Jaffna food different?

• ◆More intensely spiced. Jaffna curries use more dried chilli than the coconut-heavy southern dishes. The heat is direct and upfront.
• ◆Different base ingredients. Palmyra palm products, dried fish, specific varieties of dried chilli unique to the north give Jaffna food a flavour profile you won't find elsewhere on the island.
• ◆Less sweet. Southern Sri Lankan food often has sweetness from coconut milk. Jaffna food is drier, more savoury, more intense.
• ◆Exceptional seafood. Jaffna is surrounded by water. Crab, prawns and fresh fish feature heavily, cooked in ways that preserve and amplify natural flavour.

The crab

Jaffna crab curry is probably the most famous dish from the region. Large crabs cooked in a dark, intensely spiced curry that's fiery and rich in equal measure. It's not delicate food. It's the kind of thing people remember for years.

What this means for our catering

When we say our food is rooted in Jaffna, we mean the recipes and the approach. We're not doing a generic Sri Lankan menu. The flavour profile, the spicing, the techniques all come from a specific place with a specific culinary tradition that goes back generations. That specificity is what makes the food stand out.