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Uva Province
Ella
Things to Do in Ella
Ella Spice Garden

Ella Spice Garden: Hours, Address, Ella Spice Garden Reviews: 4.5/5

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Ella Spice Garden

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Ella Spice Garden
4.5
566
#3 of 18 things to do in Ella
Gardens
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12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
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About
Ella Spice Garden Cooking Lesson is a unique experience that you can enjoy while you visit Ella town. Our program begins with a spice garden tour with an attractive explanation about the spices we use in our Sri Lankan cousin. After tasting a taste bud awakening spice tea we begin our Sri Lankan cooking session. We try to make it really interesting and enthusiastic so you will involve in different hands-on activities and funny competitions with other candidates. We give you a real insight into the history of Sri Lankan cooking and the different utensils used. you will get a recipe book which you will use to write down small tips and ingredient quantities used for our cooking. We will make Rice , Roti , and some mouth-watering Currys with hands-on activities for all the participants later you can enjoy the taste of Sri Lankan authentic spicy meal.
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
566 reviews
Excellent
388
Very good
110
Average
39
Poor
19
Terrible
10
leahlovesicecream
Melbourne, Australia42 contributions
Fun cooking class and interesting spice garden visit
We enjoyed a visit to the Spice Garden Ella in Feb 2020. The garden itself was small but interesting. The standalone fee per person was 200 rupee. If you book the cooking class (2000 rupee per person), the spice garden is included. The cooking class is between 5pm-8pm at the residence on the same property as the garden. Approx 7-9 people are in the class. We found it fun, largely due to the excellent humour of the host/teacher. Everyone had a turn because there were no individual cooking stations. I would say a group of 9 is too big for this kitchen but I appreciate they want to make the venture profitable. We produced 4 curries and they were all delicious. It was lovely to sit down together and enjoy the meal at the end of the class.
Written February 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Zoe
2 contributions
Lovely intimate tour in Ella
Couples
We did the tour of the garden in Ella & it was lovely. It was just the two of us and a bargain entry price to walk around the garden and have everything explained to us about cooking and how to grow such a variety if vegetables, spices and fruits.
A lovely way to spend an hour & the gift shop is all homemade spice packages for the best prices in Ella.
Written April 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Ella Spice Garden Cooking Lessons
Thanks 🙏
Written April 3, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Charlotte
4 contributions
Fantastic local experience
Couples
Really good tour of an enthusiastic local who's got a huge garden and grows all spices, herbs, fruit and vegetables. For anyone interested in learning where spices come from and how they are made, I would definitely give this a go. Very cheap only 200RS per person and then all spices in his little shop are made by him and his family.
Written February 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Ella Spice Garden Cooking Lessons
Thanks and love to have you again if you visit Sri Lanka
Written March 21, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
clair01
Blyth, UK25 contributions
Great thanks
Couples
I’m interested in Indian BIR curry home cooking so this tour was very interesting for me. I’m planning on returning to Sri Lanka in February so will be trying to book the famous cookery class then.
Thanks really enjoyed today see you soon 👍🏿
Written June 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Ella Spice Garden Cooking Lessons
Great
Written June 5, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
M0bbsy
London, UK1 contribution
Observing not cooking!
Firstly, I thought the host was a nice chap - he was well spoken and took the time to answer questions. Also, the end meal was tasty and there was plenty of it to go around.

However, that's where the positivity stops I'm afraid. We spent 3.5 hours standing around a single workstation in a mosquito infested kitchen, watching him cook whilst 8 people took turns doing very rudimentary tasks, such as peeling garlic, taking it in turns to stir a single pot, and writing pointless repetitive numbers in a booklet, which I can only assume was to try and distract us from the lack of cooking (it didn't work).

Really not sure how this gets such positive reviews - I can only assume those people who liked it have never actually partaken in a proper cooking class before, where you get to.... cook.
Written January 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Tobias B
Munich, Germany4 contributions
A secret spice Garden at Ella - dont miss!
Couples
The owner was a very friendly man, je showed us his secret spice garden. A lot of fruit trees and plants. You saw he loves to give a lot information. The entree is low, dont miss it at Ella. Behind the the Chili Café
Written March 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Ella Spice Garden Cooking Lessons
Thanks a lot for your positive feedback. hope to see you again if you visit Sri Lanka
Written March 21, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hohenheim
Frankfurt, Germany16 contributions
An extremely fun cooking class!
Couples
Amazing cooking class inclusive a tour threw their spice garden. The family is extremely friendly and funny and the cooking class is a lot of fun. You cook together in a group the most amazing Sri Lankan food.
Written March 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Ella Spice Garden Cooking Lessons
Thank you so much for the review 😊 , we are really happy give a great experience contact us on ±94757666999 for any clarification on the recipes .
Written March 26, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
YaCop
Esslingen am Neckar, Germany177 contributions
Nice guy, BUT
Chandika, the host of the cooking class, has a very good command of english (studies to become an english teacher) and is really precise in what he does. We, (2 persons were present to do the cooking class)  prepared and cooked different curries and pappadam and ate them. Preparing and eating takes about 3 hours. We liked the idea of cooking in a real sri lankian kitchen and the dishes were tasty. So far so good.

But...

Chandika is a bit shy and it is difficult to warm up with him. We had to do most of the chating (besides explaination of cooking steps) in order not to be standing around in silence.

It dawned to us that there is no real passion in what he does as he only cooks when he has cooking classes. All other cooking within the family is his mother's responsibility as he mentioned. It became too obvious that he does it for the money (2,000 rupee per person).

The garden is also looked after by his mother and not him as he explained.

Once all food was prepared for dinner we sat alone at the table although we invited him two times to join us (Remember: He is the host). His mother and sister were in the kitchen washing up our saucepans and preparing their own familiy dinner. Sometimes family members passed by without saying a word.

He also sells the spices but most of them are not from his mother' spice garden as the garden is still too little or does not contain the spice at all. Furthermore, we can only imagine why he sells citronella oil during a cooking class as this oil is against mosquitos and not used in the kitchen.

All of the above mentioned basically ruins the atmosphere and we found it weird and uncomfortable sitting "alone" at the table in a stranger's home.

Final words:
The ideal is great but the host of the cooking class was not "present" and there was no real passion.
Written December 15, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
SoSo246
10 contributions
Great coocking class, worth every rupee
We loved the coocking class at Ella Spice Garden. It started at 5 p.m. and we were eight participants. We had signed up for the class the evening before and had to pay in advance, 2500 Rs each.
We got a welcome tea and then started with a little tour through the spice garden, which was very interesting. Afterwards the chef handed us cook books to fill out and take home. That was great so we wouldn't have to keep all the recipes in mind. The class itself was amazing. The young and pleasant chef was really fun and explained very well, his English was excellent. He created a relaxed atmosphere with small competitons and fun anecdotes. We cooked a garlic curry, potatoe curry, dhal, coconut sambol, rice and pappadoms. Afterwards we had a fabulous meal, which all of us enjoyed very much. The chef's family poured us a glass of water and looked after our needs, all very kind. We were lucky to have a nice group with interesting talking, so we left at about 9 p.m.
We highly recommend taking this class if you're interested in authentic Sri Lankan cooking and a fun and informative evening.
Written October 2, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
BlondeVicki
Portsmouth, UK21 contributions
Not to be missed!
Couples
Based on other reviews we’d seen we couldn’t miss the opportunity to get onto this cooking course whilst in Ella.

We popped to the Spice Garden on Tuesday morning and managed to get into the class the following night.

The class is 2500 rupees each, which is a bargain for what you learn, the food you make and the fun you have.

There were 5 of us in total and we made 2 curries, dhal, rice, coconut sambol and popadoms. We filled out our recipe books, all got involved and had fun with our host Chandika. Once everything was ready we got to sit down and enjoy our creations and chat.

This was an absolute highlight of my trip. We left full, happy and buzzing to get back home and try the recipes out again.

Highly recommended!
Written June 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Ella Spice Garden
Ella Spice Garden is open:
  • Sun - Sat 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
We recommend booking Ella Spice Garden tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 4 Ella Spice Garden tours on Tripadvisor
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