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A TASTE OF ISLAND LIFE
The beaches may draw you to Seychelles, but the soul of the archipelago lives in its Creole culture. Discover it one plate at a time.
On a Saturday morning at Victoria Market on Mahé, the day’ s catch rests on ice while vendors call out over mountains of mangoes, papaya, breadfruit, chillies, and cinnamon bark. It is an introduction to Seychellois Creole culture, shaped by African, French, Indian, and Chinese influences.
WHAT’ S COOKING The star is fresh fish, grilled over coals and topped with a Creole sauce of tomato, onion, garlic, ginger, and chilli. Octopus curry is another favourite, simmered in coconut milk and served with rice, lentils, and green papaya chutney.
Kari koko, or coconut curry, is also made with fish or chicken. Its spice profile is aromatic rather than fiery, with ginger, cinnamon, and curry leaves doing the heavy lifting.
For something sweet, try banana ladob: bananas poached in coconut milk, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla.
“ The best food in Seychelles is the freshest and most uncomplicated,” says Christine Vel, Director, Seychelles Tourism
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Board.“ Some of my favourite meals happen nowhere near a table: grilled jackfish eaten with your toes in the sand, or gato piman, our golden lentil fritters spiked with chilli, picked up from a roadside takeaway.”
EXPERIENCES TO SAVOUR A local cooking experience often becomes the highlight of a stay. On Mahé’ s west coast, Avani + Barbarons’ offers a four-hour Creole experience that includes choosing produce and the day’ s catch, followed by a cooking class and meal.
At Maison Marengo in Au Cap, hands-on classes cover classics like eggplant fritters, grilled fish, chicken curry, and papaya chutney, with vegetarian menus available.
Elsewhere, dine in a converted plantation house or choose a beachside grill on car-free La Digue, where bicycles rule the roads and dinner arrives straight off the coals.
FROM FOREST TO FESTIVAL Walk off lunch in the UNESCO-
listed Vallée de Mai on Praslin, home to the coco de mer palm and rare black parrot. In October, Festival Kreol turns the islands into a week-long celebration of Seychellois music, dance, craft, and cuisine, including moutya, the drum-driven dance recognised by UNESCO.
South Africans don’ t need a visa, although an online Travel Authorisation is required. Direct flights from Johannesburg take five hours, while temperatures remain between 24 ° C and 32 ° C year-round.
Pack your cozzie, sunscreen, and an appetite for island life.
www. seychelles. com