Member Spotlight: Rashi’s Ceylon Kitchen

Rashi’s Ceylon Kitchen bring the flavours and culture of Sri Lanka to the the UK, we found out about their story, their expertise and pride in Sri Lankan food and why they love running their own business in this week’s member spotlight. 

1.How did you get into hospitality?  After my MSc in University of West Of England,  Bristol I wanted to start my own business. I realised that people love Sri Lankan foods and there was a lack of authentic cuisines – my wife is a brilliant chef too, so we decided to step onto a new sector.

2.What do you love about working for yourselves? It’s challenging but we love it. Both of us are from different fields and decided to develop our own path in hospitality industry and most importantly we wanted to spent more time with our kids which is crucial to us.

3.How did you develop your menu / where do you get inspiration from? We only do Sri Lankan cuisine foods. Initially we did market research to understand customer’s requirements. Gradually we started advertising and offered foods that weren’t so well known as well and we realised that when we offer authentic recipes, people grabbed them without hesitation.

4.What’s your favourite thing on your menu? I like Kottu most. It’s the famous Sri Lankan Street food and recently that word added to the prominent Oxford Dictionary!. It’s cut up roti pieces , chopped vegetables and any meat cooked on hot plate and mix  flip over by 2 steel plates. Kottu has a significant flavour and aroma too – it’s very famous among people who travelled Sri Lanka.

5.Why did you join NCASS? It’s prestigious to become a member of NCASS and we wanted to get more industry knowledge, know industry trends and get technical and diverse support.

6.What’s your motto? Healthy foods from Sri Lanka to Devon

7.What’s your vision for your business? To spread the taste of authentic Sri Lankan foods across England by providing a  friendly courteous service.

8.What do you love about the hospitality industry? The best thing about it is that I get the opportunity to meet diverse people. People from different countries different backgrounds, I share my thoughts and knowledge about food and promote my country as well – describing the beauty of Sri Lanka, its beaches  and its breath taking scenery. I also love to mingle with people and my business has paved the way for me to do this.

9.What are the biggest hurdles you’ve overcome? Starting and establishing a business itself is a hurdle being a newcomer, but we have got through it and succeeded.

10.What do you think the biggest challenges for the industry are at the moment? Inflation is the biggest challenge I think – rising prises hit the customers pockets at the end and reduce purchasing power. Small businesses like us suffer a lot from that.

11.What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting up? Working for yourself is fascinating and it gives a endless happiness so don’t wait – make  your dreams come true.

12.What other businesses that inspire you?  I promote ‘Visit Sri Lanka” via food. So I’m really into food tourism  – I spread and talk about beauty of Sri Lanka with authentic food that has a culture of its own.

To find out more about Rashi’s Ceylon Kitchen, give them a follow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok