There’s a certain kind of meal that would top the list of any Sri Lankan: a serving of traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry, which is a heavenly combination of fresh vegetables, spices and some earthy flavour of clay pots heating over an open fire, that transports you right back home. On their 3rd day on tour this is just what the chefs set out to create. Mankada – the MJF Centre for Traditional Arts and Crafts – was their destination. Mankada embodies all the charm of rustic, simple houses that dot the Sri Lankan countryside. The open-style mud hut with its roof of woven coconut leaves is cool even on a scorching hot day and the wind that freely swirls around refreshes and revives.Greens and yams fresh from the garden were cooked in traditional clay pots as was the rice over an open fire. And the combination of flavours put together by some of the best  chefs in the world added a new dimension to a meal that was quintessentially Sri Lankan.