Cap sur Maurice Destination Immobilier - Edition 2019 Edition 2019 | Página 43

MAURITIUS ISLAND DISCOVERY
la restauration à Curepipe. Le Petit Gourmet, une
crêperie ouvrira en 1980.
Cinq ans après, elle reprend la maison Oxenham
et fait le Grand Gourmet. Sa réputation a maintenant
franchi les frontières et François Mitterrand, la Prin-
cesse Anne, le Prince Edward, Graça Machel (épouse
de Nelson Mandela), Margaret Thatcher, défilent
chez elle. En 1991, elle tente une nouvelle aventure au
Domaine les Pailles. Si le succès est au rendez-vous,
les relations avec les propriétaires sont tendues et elle
quitte au bout de trois ans. Après deux autres années
de traversée de désert, elle ouvre en 1996, La Clef des
Champs à Floréal. Dans ces nouveaux quartiers elle
affirme son talent et se pose désormais comme la
Grande Dame de la Gastronomie Mauricienne.
Le talent de Jacqueline Dalais dépasse aujourd’hui
nos frontières et il n’est pas rare de croiser dans son
restaurant, de grands chefs. Toujours dans le partage,
cette femme au grand cœur reste sans conteste l’une
des plus belles personnalités de l’île dans le milieu
gastronomique et bien au-delà, à l’image de sa cuisine,
généreuse et raffinée.
Jacqueline Dalais, Great Lady of the Mauritian Gastronomy
Few people know this, but one of the jewels of the
Mauritian hotel industry, Shangri-La’s Le Touessrok, was
built where Jacqueline and her husband Cyril Dalais built
a 14-room hotel in 1969 ...
The story of Le Touessrok begins in 1915. Henri
Wiehé, known as Father Coco, Jacqueline’s maternal
grandfather, discovers during a tour in his cane fields,
a little jewel placed on the crystal lagoon near Trou d ‘
Pure water. He decides to offer it to his wife, Hilda, for a
lease of one rupee per month. So called the hare island,
it was renamed Touessrok by Mrs. Wiehé, in memory of
their native Brittany where was another island, Tuerocs.
Jacqueline then throws herself thoroughly behind the
furnaces, immerses herself in the cookbooks, and follows
her mother’s advice to the letter. And from his hands
come dishes that will quickly bring employees of the
sweets of Fuel and Constance. « At the time, there were
no tourists yet. It was especially the employees of the
sweets who came to spend the weekend in Touessrok .»
But Maurice had just gained independence and the Tourist
Office was starting small promotional campaigns. « The
first foreigners I met were Italians whom Régis Fanchette
had brought me.»
It is especially the quality of Jacqueline’s table that
will forge the reputation of Touessrok. So much so that
it does not hide its surprise and its joy to see a beautiful
day arrive, the great Belgian singer Jacques Brel. The
Touessrok had taken off, but the misfortune hit its wings
in 1975. Cyril, suffering from cancer must be treated in
Britain. His whole family accompanies him. They will stay
there for three years and will have to sell their property.
It is the Sun International group that will buy the lease
and make it the Touessrok known to all and that is now
known as Shangri-La.
For Jacqueline the bad luck continues to strive. In
late December 1978, her husband died, leaving her with
four children aged seven to six months. But this fighter
refuses to give up and against the advice of her beautiful
family, embarks on the restoration Curepipe. Le Petit
Gourmet, a creperie will open in 1980.
Five years later, she took over the Oxenham house and
made the Grand Gourmet. His reputation has now crossed
the border and François Mitterrand, Princess Anne,
Prince Edward, Graça Machel (wife of Nelson Mandela),
Margaret Thatcher, parade at home. In 1991, she tries a
new adventure at Domaine les Pailles. If success is there,
relations with the owners are tense and she leaves after
three years. After another two years of desert crossing,
she opened in 1996, The Clef des Champs at Floreal.
In these new neighborhoods she affirms her talent
and is now posing as the Great Lady of the Mauritian
Gastronomy.
The talent of Jacqueline Dalais today exceeds our
borders and it is not uncommon to meet in her restaurant,
great chefs. Always sharing, this woman with a big heart
is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful personalities of
the island in the gastronomic world and beyond, just like
its cuisine, generous and refined.
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