We welcome street food experts - Ceylon & Beyond to cater for our private campsite at Glastonbury 2023.
We're serious about food here at Inner Sanctum - Pilton. We know that you need to nourish to flourish at a festival; regular nutritious meals are the fuel you need to party all weekend.
Naturally, our search for the best festival food to cater for you in our new private campsite was shaped by the following values:
Sustainability - planet-friendly, food waste concious
Quality - fresh ingredients, ethical sourcing
Authenticity - traditional, experienced and passionate.
Originality - unique and exciting flavours, with a varied menu.
Ceylon & Beyond met our criteria on every level. They follow an ‘earth to plate’ philosophy, believing that every dish they make should resonate with its origins, honouring the vibrancy and enhancing the nature of each ingredient.
Honouring our Asian heritage and ancient medicine is key to us – the sensation of homeliness, comfort and wellbeing.
Flying the flag for independent businesses - this Sri Lankan owned and run catering company is as authentic as it gets. Their spices are home grown, traditionally harvested and sun dried in a simple and timeless process, then imported to them in direct small batches. The result? Clean and seasonal tastes, along with humble, playful and curious methods.
From Bristol street food markets to top UK festivals - the likes of Isle of Wight festival, Latitude festival, Shambala to name a few - Ceylon & Beyond has made a name serving bold and adventurous flavours with authentic Sri Lankan ingredients.
We caught up with the team to uncover what you can expect from Ceylon & Beyond at Inner Sanctum.
Hi Harsha, Isuru and Maddy - welcome! What should our guests expect from Ceylon & Beyond whilst staying at Inner Sanctum, Pilton?
We have a breakfast buffet available featuring high-welfare, organic meat and eggs from Somerset farmers, as well as plenty of plant-based alternatives and continental options!
For lunch and dinner we'll have our Sri Lankan street food menu available - think rice and curry, short eats (street snacks) and stir-fries - as well as a special house burger menu. There will be plenty of choices for all dietary requirements and tastes!
Can you describe Sri Lankan food for someone who's never tried it?
There's a misconception that Sri Lankan food is really spicy, but it's not always! We use all kinds of spices from Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, curry leaves, and turmeric, to our secret blend 'Mum's curry powder' and our toasted spice sauce. Imagine thali-style bowls full of flavour, crunchy deep-fried street snacks, and aromatic stir-fries - there are tonnes of different textures and flavours to discover, as well as some of our unique fusion dishes!
Where did you learn to cook - what inspired you?
Harsha is a trained chef with experience in kitchens in Sri Lanka, London, Cuba and Japan. He has an expert palate - we often joke he should insure his tongue! Using a mix of industry techniques paired with traditional recipes, every dish is unique with our own spin on it. We are inspired by innovative chefs and by ambitious food.
Tell us about your Earth to Plate philosophy; what does it mean and why is it important?
We follow an ‘earth to plate’ philosophy, believing that every dish we make should resonate with its origins, honouring the vibrancy and enhancing the nature of each ingredient. We only serve food that we have prepared ourselves from scratch with quality fresh ingredients - nothing frozen or processed! The idea is that the final products are an organic fusion of their components - you should be able to distinguish the flavours.
It's Food Waste Week, can you talk to us about the ways you reduce your food waste?
We try to use local produce as much as we can - often at the veg market, we'll end up picking up wonky veg for free, which we'll use in a special or incorporate into our menu that week. We batch cook and portion our product before storing it so that we can estimate and serve what's required. We also try to compost our food waste in local urban garden schemes in Bristol, and we use some scraps to nourish our new planter garden at our unit!
What makes Ceylon & Beyond original?
Ceylon & Beyond was born out of friends and family sharing a common vision, to provide meaningful, genuine, quality food, and catering for events across the spectrum. Honouring our Asian heritage and ancient medicine is key to us – the sensation of homeliness, comfort and well-being.
Wow, can you give us an example of ancient medicine? Sounds fascinating.
Sri Lanka is one of the homes of Ayurveda, so we try to honour important ingredients in our cooking. We believe that food is medicine, so the inclusion of all those authentic spices helps keep us in top health. We only use whole spice that we get directly imported from local suppliers in Sri Lanka, and you can taste the difference in quality!
Is anyone else's mouth watering already? Make sure you follow Ceylon & Beyond's socials to stay up to date with all their tasty news.
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