What is your why?
Me, it’s about exploring Sri Lankan food, heritage, and culture through recipes, podcasts, and photography.
How about you?
Simon Sinek, the business guru, is the person who started to prod us about our why. He’s lectured many corporates, talked to CEOs, given TED Talks, appeared on podcasts, and has a multi-million best-selling book that helps us to understand and answer our why. And yes I read Start with Why as I tried to establish my why.
Because to understand ourselves, to inspire people, to run a cultural festival, I have to understand my why.Â
I started to think about this as I reflected on why I and my partners started the Sri Lankan Culture Collective.
Four women. Four busy women with families, businesses, jobs, and side hustles. Women who probably don’t need another spinning plate to add to our act.
Yet, we did. On top of everything we do, we decided to add a festival.Â
We did this because it’s something that matters to us.
It’s now become a driving force. It runs deep within us to have a tangible connection with our heritage and our culture and a way to celebrate it, to share this within our diaspora community and beyond.
We’re now in our second year of running this festival, and it’s carved deep into our why. And, it’s why I want to introduce my festival partners to you.
I haven’t known Rosh, Thana, or Krish for very long. We don’t go back years or have close family connections, nothing like that. Yet we have developed an unyielding bond, that has helped us to create a platform to showcase the depth of creativity that exists within modern Sri Lankan culture here in the UK.
For last year’s Sri Lankan Culture Collective Boutique Festival, I curated a digital programme: Culture Drop. As part of this, I got to sit down with Rosh, Thana, and Krish and recorded a podcast series that dug into their whys.
Please take some time out, and understand and connect with our why.
Rosh Olivelle, founder of Hop & Roll
Fuelled by her Sri Lankan roots and a love for bold, authentic flavour, Rosh launched a street food enterprise that focused on one iconic dish: the Sri Lankan hopper. She learned her craft from Sri Lankan cooks and started serving crowds at Kerb Food Markets in London. Hop & Roll soon became a street favourite.
Rosh’s hopper masterclasses are now considered a must-do experience, and alongside this, she has branched out into selling hopper kits, cocktail sets, and award-winning curry powders. Her Sri Lankan roasted curry powder has scooped a 3-Star Great Taste Award 2024 and was a Golden Fork nominee!
Sri Lankan hopper making kits and culinary mastery: Rosh Olivelle's Sri Lankan success story
South Asian Heritage Month seeks to raise the profile and help people understand the richness and diversity of South Asian culture in Britain today.
Thana Sivasambu, founder of Ruci Foods
I remember recording the podcast with Thana, founder of RUCI Foods, an award-winning food brand bringing the vibrant tastes of Sri Lanka to the world. I found her story so moving, and how it inspired Thana to create an ethically sourced brand as a way to support farmers in rural Sri Lankan communities.
What started with a deep love for heritage and purpose is now on the shelves of Selfridges, Amazon, and top retailers, and has been featured on national TV and leading food magazines.
Chutney, pickles and sambols: Tasting your way through Sri Lankan Culture
In this South Asian Heritage Month edition of Tea with Tooting Mama, I’m talking to Thana Sivasambu, the founder of Ruci Foods. You may remember Thana from a previous episode of Tea with Tooting Mama.
Krish Puwanarajah, founder of Arêvery
Krish is a first-generation British Sri Lankan photographer and co-founder of Muvs All Day, a food delivery service and then supper club born out of Lockdown in London.
MUVS ALL DAY started in 2020 as a dual-heritage dining experience rooted in seasonal food, low-waste cooking, and curated wines. It has grown into something bigger…Arêvery is a purpose-led concept store, coffee, and wine bar set in the heart of Tooting.
Ethical purpose is at the heart of Arêvery, with 30p from every coffee going to a local food bank. Wine is sourced from small-scale producers, women-led projects, and makers from underrepresented communities.
Curry, Culture, and Connection: Krisha Puwanarajah’s story about MUVs ALL Day
In this South Asian Heritage Month edition of Tea with Tooting Mama, I’m talking to Krisha Puwanarajah, the co-founder of MUVs ALL DAY. Originally MUVs started out as curries delivered to customers in jars, then became a cult supper club. Krish is now on her journey to transform MUVs.
The Sri Lankan Culture Collective Boutique Festival runs from 26 July to 7 September in London, come meet me and my wonderful partners:
26 July, comedy and music night, Battersea Arts Centre
5 August, wine and spice pairing workshop, Arevery, Tooting
14 August, Sri Lankan supper club, Tooting Works
7 September, hopper-making masterclass, Tooting Works