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VIEW PHOTOS
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Host: Srividya

Chennai (Madras), India

USD
$20-$30 per person

South Indian culinary experience with a food-loving family

Host offerings
  • Apartment
  • Home cook
  • Pets
  • Vegetarian
  • Alcohol
  • Transportation
  • Cooking class
  • Market visit
  • Food tour

Meet Srividya

Srividya worked for many years in the luxury hotel industry and relishes the opportunity to introduce her guests to South India's cultural and culinary traditions. She lives in a cozy, immaculately clean apartment with her husband, mother and two children, all of whom are self-described foodies who love to cook together as a family. She delights in preparing fresh, healthy meals using locally grown vegetables and ingredients. She enjoys the balance of a complete meal that has variety in terms of flavors, nutrition, pace, texture, and digestion. You will sense her pride as she shares interesting anecdotes and stories that highlight the traditions and science behind the foods you will enjoy at her table. Srividya is a vegetarian but she occasionally prepares meat for her family members.

“Food is my way of connecting with people and hosting with Traveling Spoon makes my world happier.”

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal: (1-5 guests) A meal in Srividya’s home presents a taste of Tamil Nadu served on a vibrant banana leaf (when seasonably available). You can expect to taste seasonal dishes such as vegetable curries, fish curry, dosas (South Indian-style crispy crepes), pillowy idlis (fluffy, savory cakes), kozhukattai (South Indian dumplings) made from a variety of flour, tamarind rice or curd rice, and her homemade mango pickle. South India has an immense culinary heritage and the range of dishes you taste at Srividya's table reflect this bounty. Your meal will showcase the diversity and unique dishes from a range of cuisines, like Mudaliar and Tamilian Brahmin cooking.

Cooking experience: (1-5 guests) Join Srividya in the kitchen to learn to make two to three South Indian Tamilian dishes from scratch. You will learn to use spices such as mustard seeds, coconut and black pepper in Srividya's kitchen as you cook traditional curries and rice. After cooking, enjoy the dishes you helped prepare with Srividya at her dining table along with a few other dishes that Srividya will have prepared in advance.

Languages spoken: English

Sample menu

This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
  • Vada (fried lentil dumplings served with homemade chutney)
  • Dosas with sambar
  • Seasonal vegetable poriyal (stir fried vegetables tempered with coconut and mustard)
  • Tamarind rice
  • Mango pickle
PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW
A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

I loved everything I ate, but I was particularly fond of the tamarind rice, the vegetable curry, and her homemade mango chutney/pickle and curd. Everything was extremely fresh and flavorful, and everything had an interesting story behind it.

Amelia, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews

5.0 (8)
Her cooking class was awesome. I had a lot of requests, and they accommodated all of them, and I was very satisfied with the lesson. The food was served on a large banana leaf, and all of the dishes were delicious. Pickle taught me how to make two different types. I would definitely like to take her lessons again. I highly recommend taking her lessons when she comes to Chennai.
- Ryosuke January 10, 2024
We had a fantastic experience with Srividya. She contacted us to understand what we want. As my wife is deeply into Southern Indian Cusine, we made some requests and she covered them very well. It was great to learn authentic home style southern Indian cusine. My wife asked many questions and she answered all on them in details. Sirividya is very nice and plesant person to communicate. We wish to come back again in the future.
- oyoyo4 March 13, 2023
Srividya was a great host. We enjoyed the conversation around recipes, traditions and cooking hacks. She has a lovely house and very knowledgeable about the different styles of cooking across India. Finally she is also a great cook, and made really delicious items for us.
- Seema February 03, 2023
We learned to prepare 2 vegetarian dishes using fresh seasonal ingredients. Then we enjoy a typical South Indian lunch together served on a banana leaf
- David_b January 03, 2023
We learned from our host Srividya how to cook pineapple chutney and dosa. She gave us detailed instructions on how to replicate the recipes in our home. I recommend this activity if you want to learn how to prepare south Indian traditional dishes.
- simona January 01, 2023
Our visit to Srividya's home was definitely one of my highlights on my trip to India. She is so welcoming and friendly, and takes care of every detail. It was so interesting to see how she prepares the meal, and she explained every step of the process. We had such a good time and I would highly recommend this experience to anyone traveling to Chennai.
- 409mar November 05, 2022
This was one of my favorite memories in Chennai! Srividya is very kind and pleasant to chat with. The dishes she had in mind to teach were ones that could be easily recreated back home without unique ingredients, which is a great concept for this class. These dishes were supplemented by several others for a festive lunch. Highly recommend!
- sofiaduj October 17, 2022
My mother and I were desperate to take a cooking class before we left India, especially as our last plan fell through. So, we found Traveling Spoon online and decided to try it out last minute! We originally wanted to book with Sundari, but she was already booked and couldn't accommodate us (wonderful interaction though! She was absolutely lovely) so Traveling Spoon actually contacted US when they saw us not make a booking, and offered their assistance. They contacted every host they had in Chennai, and found us Srividya who was available and happy to have us!Srividya was amazing and had a beautiful home. Her son was there for dinner and we all had a lovely chat over cooking and dinner. Mum and I had eaten SO much Indian food at this point, and already had a decent background in Indian cuisine, so we had a lot of suggestions for what we wanted to cook and Srividya blew us away by showing us EVERYTHING! Overall, what a wonderful experience we had! And all made possible by the fantastic team at Traveling Spoon!
- LeahR1188 August 23, 2019
Read More
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Srividya

$20-$30 USD

per person
100% VETTED
Learn more
  • No waiting! Booking confirmed instantly
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back
  • Private experience
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 $28 $22 $20
Cooking Experience + Meal
 $30 $26 $22
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 $28 $22 $20
Cooking Experience + Meal
 $30 $26 $22
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
 Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
 12:00pm-2:00pm 7:00pm-9:00pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
 11:00am-2:00pm 6:00pm-9:00pm

Meet Srividya

Srividya worked for many years in the luxury hotel industry and relishes the opportunity to introduce her guests to South India's cultural and culinary traditions. She lives in a cozy, immaculately clean apartment with her husband, mother and two children, all of whom are self-described foodies who love to cook together as a family. She delights in preparing fresh, healthy meals using locally grown vegetables and ingredients. She enjoys the balance of a complete meal that has variety in terms of flavors, nutrition, pace, texture, and digestion. You will sense her pride as she shares interesting anecdotes and stories that highlight the traditions and science behind the foods you will enjoy at her table. Srividya is a vegetarian but she occasionally prepares meat for her family members.

“Food is my way of connecting with people and hosting with Traveling Spoon makes my world happier.”

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal: (1-5 guests) A meal in Srividya’s home presents a taste of Tamil Nadu served on a vibrant banana leaf (when seasonably available). You can expect to taste seasonal dishes such as vegetable curries, fish curry, dosas (South Indian-style crispy crepes), pillowy idlis (fluffy, savory cakes), kozhukattai (South Indian dumplings) made from a variety of flour, tamarind rice or curd rice, and her homemade mango pickle. South India has an immense culinary heritage and the range of dishes you taste at Srividya's table reflect this bounty. Your meal will showcase the diversity and unique dishes from a range of cuisines, like Mudaliar and Tamilian Brahmin cooking.

Cooking experience: (1-5 guests) Join Srividya in the kitchen to learn to make two to three South Indian Tamilian dishes from scratch. You will learn to use spices such as mustard seeds, coconut and black pepper in Srividya's kitchen as you cook traditional curries and rice. After cooking, enjoy the dishes you helped prepare with Srividya at her dining table along with a few other dishes that Srividya will have prepared in advance.

Languages spoken: English

Sample menu

This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
  • Vada (fried lentil dumplings served with homemade chutney)
  • Dosas with sambar
  • Seasonal vegetable poriyal (stir fried vegetables tempered with coconut and mustard)
  • Tamarind rice
  • Mango pickle
PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW
A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

I loved everything I ate, but I was particularly fond of the tamarind rice, the vegetable curry, and her homemade mango chutney/pickle and curd. Everything was extremely fresh and flavorful, and everything had an interesting story behind it.

Amelia, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews

5.0 (8)
Her cooking class was awesome. I had a lot of requests, and they accommodated all of them, and I was very satisfied with the lesson. The food was served on a large banana leaf, and all of the dishes were delicious. Pickle taught me how to make two different types. I would definitely like to take her lessons again. I highly recommend taking her lessons when she comes to Chennai.
- Ryosuke January 10, 2024
We had a fantastic experience with Srividya. She contacted us to understand what we want. As my wife is deeply into Southern Indian Cusine, we made some requests and she covered them very well. It was great to learn authentic home style southern Indian cusine. My wife asked many questions and she answered all on them in details. Sirividya is very nice and plesant person to communicate. We wish to come back again in the future.
- oyoyo4 March 13, 2023
Srividya was a great host. We enjoyed the conversation around recipes, traditions and cooking hacks. She has a lovely house and very knowledgeable about the different styles of cooking across India. Finally she is also a great cook, and made really delicious items for us.
- Seema February 03, 2023
We learned to prepare 2 vegetarian dishes using fresh seasonal ingredients. Then we enjoy a typical South Indian lunch together served on a banana leaf
- David_b January 03, 2023
We learned from our host Srividya how to cook pineapple chutney and dosa. She gave us detailed instructions on how to replicate the recipes in our home. I recommend this activity if you want to learn how to prepare south Indian traditional dishes.
- simona January 01, 2023
Our visit to Srividya's home was definitely one of my highlights on my trip to India. She is so welcoming and friendly, and takes care of every detail. It was so interesting to see how she prepares the meal, and she explained every step of the process. We had such a good time and I would highly recommend this experience to anyone traveling to Chennai.
- 409mar November 05, 2022
This was one of my favorite memories in Chennai! Srividya is very kind and pleasant to chat with. The dishes she had in mind to teach were ones that could be easily recreated back home without unique ingredients, which is a great concept for this class. These dishes were supplemented by several others for a festive lunch. Highly recommend!
- sofiaduj October 17, 2022
My mother and I were desperate to take a cooking class before we left India, especially as our last plan fell through. So, we found Traveling Spoon online and decided to try it out last minute! We originally wanted to book with Sundari, but she was already booked and couldn't accommodate us (wonderful interaction though! She was absolutely lovely) so Traveling Spoon actually contacted US when they saw us not make a booking, and offered their assistance. They contacted every host they had in Chennai, and found us Srividya who was available and happy to have us!Srividya was amazing and had a beautiful home. Her son was there for dinner and we all had a lovely chat over cooking and dinner. Mum and I had eaten SO much Indian food at this point, and already had a decent background in Indian cuisine, so we had a lot of suggestions for what we wanted to cook and Srividya blew us away by showing us EVERYTHING! Overall, what a wonderful experience we had! And all made possible by the fantastic team at Traveling Spoon!
- LeahR1188 August 23, 2019
Read More
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 $28 $22 $20
Cooking Experience + Meal
 $30 $26 $22
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ people
In-Home Meal
 $28 $22 $20
Cooking Experience + Meal
 $30 $26 $22
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
 Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
 12:00pm-2:00pm 7:00pm-9:00pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
 11:00am-2:00pm 6:00pm-9:00pm
ABOUT TRAVELING SPOON

Traveling Spoon connects you with meaningful culinary experiences, from private cooking lessons to homecooked meals in people's homes. Enjoy an immersive cultural experience that gives you a glimpse into the local way of life.

FAQ

    You can cancel your reservation up until 48 hours before your experience for a full refund minus a 3% processing fee. Experiences within 48 hours are not refundable.

    If you have a question for your host, you can include a note in the field "Write a note to your host" during the booking process. Once your booking is confirmed, you will be emailed your host's direct contact information and you will also be able to message the host through your profile. You can always cancel your booking and receive a full refund 48 hours or more before your experience. If you have other questions you can also email us at reservations@travelingspoon.com.

    Most of our hosts are able to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies, including vegetarian and gluten free options. For vegetarian travelers, we have an icon on each host profile to indicate whether that host can also offer a fully vegetarian menu. There is a section in the booking form to note any allergies or dietary restrictions which will be sent directly to your host.

    Some hosts offer alcohol as an optional add-on for travelers who are of legal drinking age. Pricing for alcohol is visible on the host profile page and includes one to two glasses of wine, beer or local alcohol.

    Have a flight or other tour planned and can’t make the timing provided? If the timing listed on the host’s profile doesn’t work for you, our hosts can often accommodate timing changes. Because all of our experiences are private our hosts are happy to tailor experiences to meet your travel needs. Simply note your request in the booking process.

    Your card will not be charged until your host accepts your booking. Typically hosts respond to bookings within 72 hours. In the event your host is unavailable on your selected date and your host rejects your booking your credit card will not be charged.

    Your host's detailed contact information, including their phone number, address, and direction notes, will all be provided immediately upon successful confirmation of your experience (after your hosts accepts your booking and your credit card is successfully processed). This information will be emailed to you to the email address you used to sign up, and will also be visible on your Traveling Spoon profile.

    All prices are noted per person prices unless otherwise specified. Transportation is typically charged on a per car basis. Children aged 5-11 are 50% off, and infants aged 0-4 are free. Hosts set their own prices and Traveling Spoon marks up the experiences; on average hosts receive over 70% of the price paid by the traveler.

    100% of Traveling Spoon experiences are private! Just you and your host and host’s family.

    Hosts typically respond to booking inquiries within 72 hours. If for some reason you have not heard from your host or if you have any questions you can always contact us at reservations@travelingspoon.com.

    Your safety and security are our top priority. To ensure this, Traveling Spoon personally vets 100% of all hosts, including an in-person host visit, to ensure each host and experience meets our strict quality requirements.

    Some hosts offer transportation as an optional add-on for travelers. Typically this is round trip transportation with pick up and drop off at your hotel. Pricing is quoted per car. Specific instructions for transportation will be provided in your confirmation details when your booking is confirmed.

    Many of our hosts accommodate solo travelers. You can see if a host accepts solo travelers by looking at the traveler range found next to the experience descriptions on the host profile (indicated by the numbers in parentheses next to "In-home meal", "Cooking experience" and "Market visit").

    Most of our Traveling Spoon experiences are incredibly family friendly and can accommodate infants and children. If a host is unable to accommodate children that will be noted in the “Notes” section of their profile. Our child pricing policy is children aged 5-11 are 50% off, and infants aged 0-4 are free.