Spice and variety

IF no one was really sure whether chef Rishi Naleendra's much-hyped Sri Lankan restaurant Kotuwa was ever going to open after Circuit Breaker, neither was the chef himself. But that question was finally answered when Kotuwa opened its doors on Dec 10 at Wanderlust hotel, almost nine months after it was supposed to start operating in April.

"While Covid-19 stopped us from opening then, I genuinely believe it was a blessing despite it being one of the most stressful things I had gone through," says chef Naleendra. "When they announced the circuit breaker, we had to figure out quickly how we could do something from Cloudstreet (his flagship restaurant) in a takeaway container and still represent the brand."

As it turned out, repressed diners under lockdown made Kotuwa's home delivery menus a resounding success, and helped the chef and his team to refine the dishes that would eventually be served at the restaurant.