by Suman Gupta
National, July 6, 2018: Cinnamon Life hosted the internationally-renowned Celebrity TV Chef Nigella Lawson for a series of events in Sri Lanka from 21 to 23 June, 2018. Nigella’s tour in Sri Lanka comprised of a wide array of exciting events that formed a part of every gourmand’s dreams! During her visit, Nigella toured the island and experienced Sri Lanka through the vibrantly inspired Cinnamon properties before she made her formal public appearances at a cocktail, an in-conversation brunch, a high tea and a book signing session.
Nigella is the third celebrity chef to be hosted by Cinnamon Life and has inspired and nurtured home cooks around the world with her relaxed and accessible cooking style and engaging personality. She is an award-winning food writer, broadcaster, journalist and a well-loved television personality. In 1998, her first cookery book, ‘How to Eat’ was published and sold over 300,000 copies, becoming an instant best-seller. She published her second book in 2000 on ‘How to Be a Domestic Goddess’, which won her the British Book Award for Author of the Year.
The series of events organized by Cinnamon Life started off with a cocktail evening at Cinnamon Grand Colombo. Guests got the opportunity to meet and interact with her in an intimate setting along with enjoying the dishes she had specially created for the evening. The excitement continued the next day with the ‘Mystery Box Cooking Challenge’ designed by Nigella held at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. From the aspiring Sri Lankan cooks who had sent in their entries, shortlisted candidates participated in a cook-off and three winners were selected in the categories of technique, flavour and presentation. Cinnamon Life also hosted an interactive brunch with Nigella at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo where 400 lucky individuals were privy to a conversation with her. The celebrity cook discussed details of her career, her culinary achievements, inspirations and much more; followed by a meet-and-greet and photo opportunities. The heightened level of enthusiasm followed until the high tea session that evening exclusively curated by Nigella and a book signing session of her latest book which was available for purchase at the venue.
On her visit to the island country, Nigella Lawson stayed at Cinnamon Wild Yala and embarked on a wildlife safari, a sunset dinner by the lake followed by a champagne breakfast the next day. She also had a brief stopover at Cinnamon Lodge Habarana to see the Sigiriya Rock Fortress, museums around Sigiriya and the Gala Viharaya.
Cinnamon Life is an integrated development by Sri Lanka’s premier listed conglomerate, the John Keells Group. This city within a city will consist of an 800-roomed luxury “Cinnamon” hotel, an array of entertainment facilities, premium residential apartments, retail and entertainment mall, office spaces, and many other attractions to set stage as the entertainment hotspot in the Indian Subcontinent. The development’s iconic design by Cecil Balmond will span across 4.5 million square feet and is envisioned to be the epicentre of modern South Asia. Cinnamon Life aims to continually introduce an array of exciting events for national and internationally audiences not only to redefine the city’s concept of entertainment and exposure, but also to give a taste of what is to expect from Cinnamon Life in the years to come. Cinnamon Life represents the best of vibrancy, exclusivity and inspired living in modern South Asia.
