We're looking for a chef. Starting November 2026 in south Sri Lanka 🌞
Kelani is a small yoga & surf retreat home in Madiha / Matara, on the south coast. Seven rooms, max 16 guests.
The kitchen is the middle of the house — which is why this hire matters more to us than any other.
The job
Full time, November to April, with the option to stay on permanently after the season.
6 brunches and 4 dinners a week.
A mix of traditional Sri Lankan cooking and western dishes — half of it rice & curry, pol sambol, hoppers and jackfruit, half of it the food our guests miss from home.
You plan the menus, shop the market, cook, and care about how it looks on the plate.
Our standards for both taste and aesthetics are high.
You
Experience in a professional kitchen.
Confident in both kitchens, Sri Lankan and western.
English speaking.
Organised with menus, shopping and costs.
Warm with guests — you'll talk to them every day.
Us
A young, mixed, slightly loud team.
Family, not staff.
We eat together, we fix things together, and nobody here is only their job title.
Interested, or know the right person?
write to letters@kelaniretreat.com with a few words about you and, if you have them, photos of your food.
www.kelaniretreat.com
