Rainbow cuisine

Rainbow cuisine
Magazine: September 2008

The island of Mauritius was already known as Dina Arobi by the Arab sailors of the 10th century but it was only in 1598 that the Dutch conquered it and renamed it Mauritius in honour of their king: Maurits Van Nassau. From this moment, the little emerald green jewel in the middle of the Indian Ocean was to become both a strategic base on the route to India and a successful producer of sugar cane. In 1715, Mauritius was taken by the French who renamed it “Ile de France”, and founded the capital, Port-Louis. The island of Mauritius is situated in the South Western part of the Indian Ocean, about 2000 kilometres from the coast of Africa and about 900 kilometres from Madagascar and is part of the Mascareignes archipelago. It is known throughout the world for its heavenly beaches, protected by a coral reef surrounding most of the island and forming a splendid lagoon. The inland though is a vast plateau covered in volcanic rock with a central chain of mountains and tropical woods and forests. A colonial melting pot In the various quarters of the capital, Port Louis, it is easy to see the melting pot population of the island: a mixture of 70% Tamil Indians and other Indians, brought here in past centuries by the colonizers to work on the land, 20% Chinese merchants, who together with a French and western minority make up the remaining 10%, animate the life of the city. The presence of such a large Indian community offers the tourist many Hindu festivals. Mahébourg, the old colonial town, has retained all its old charm, with its many old country residences. Also the Pamplemousses botanical garden is worth a visit with its hundreds of tropical plants and trees.

French-Mauritian haute cuisine
The process of metissage, created by the presence of many nationalities has developed a frontier cuisine, called Creole by the French. What the Europeans brought, particularly the French, has contributed to the refining of the Creole traditions. With the development of high-class tourism, exclusive resorts and hotels have been opened which today offer imaginative haute cuisine in idyllic locations. It is not just by chance that Bernard Loiseau’s widow, the most Michelin starred chef of France, decided to organize the Festival Culinaire in his name right here, where European talented chefs take part in a competition every year, aimed at using Mauritian foods to their best: red tuna, palm hearts, vanilla and a variety of curries.