Creole Flavours in the Seychelles

I first heard about Creole food around 5 years ago while writing up a brochure – funnily enough – on Seychellois cuisine and discussing the best way to translate the word into Arabic. So it seems to be fitting that the first place I actually got to taste some would be in these stunning islands in the Indian Ocean.

Creole cuisine may be most famously associated with the Southern states of America, particularly Louisiana, but is actually spread across a wide geographical area ranging from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar and Reunion and parts of mainland Africa, with a common thread being French or Latin cuisine overlaid onto a spicy native culinary tradition, deepened by tropical African flavours.

The result is a deliciously rich, spicy, satiating mix that is just the sort of cuisine I love :) So with no further ado, here are my top Creole must-tries from a recent trip to the Seychelles.

CHEAP AND CHEERY
Creole Street food along Beau Vallon Beach

Coconuts, local sausages, curries and grilled fish... and don't forget a freshly shaken tropical cocktail!

If you can manage to tear yourself away from the powdery sand, shimmering waters, stunning sunsets and every other beach-related cliché you can think of (because they are all true at Beau Vallon beach) you will be in for a very local treat. Just under the shade of the takamaka and casuarina trees lining the shore, locals set up little stalls selling freshly grilled tuna steaks basted in lemon and chilli and dolloped with hot, oniony Creole sauce, coconuty fish, chicken and octopus curry (known locally as cari coco), fresh coconut water served in the shell with a red hibiscus stuck on top for an extra flourish and even freshly shaken takeaway pina coladas – definitely living the island life! 

I found the stalls on a Sunday afternoon and sadly they weren’t around the following day when I went looking for another tasty bite and cheeky cocktail so it may just be a weekend thing.

Quite the view to enjoy along with your freshly grilled catch at Beau Vallon beach

LOCAL LUNCH
Battered parrot fish and spicy salsa at Marie Antoinette Restaurant

This culinary institution in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles, has been serving the very same menu of Seychellois comfort food since it first opened – in 1972! But as they say, if it ain’t broken don’t fix it, and this menu definitely seems to working for the restaurant. 

This pretty gabled house is a culinary landmark in Victoria

Marie Antoinette is housed in a handsome old colonial villa (that was once home to the American explorer Henry Morton Stanley) and is actually considered a national monument in the Seychelles with its traditional latanier-lined high-roof.

But of course, architectural merit aside, what I was there for was of course the food and it is a pretty impressive spread. Coming up on top is parrotfish – something I had until then only encountered swimming colourfully on reefs and not on a menu. The fish has beautifully buttery soft flesh and was served battered with a host of other accompaniments included a delicious salad made with ribbons of ripe mango flesh, sugar, pepper and onion, sweet and moreish golden apple chutney and the ever present burn-your-lips fiery Seychellois chilli salsa that seems to be a firm favourite across the island.

Business cards from happy customers line the walls of Marie Antoinette Restaurant

Other highlights included a delicate fish stew slow cooked with carrots, green beans and cabbage and delicious spicy grilled snapper. Aubergine fritters and a deeply flavourful soya sauce and chilli-laced chicken curry (similar to what one would call chilli chicken in Indian Chinese restaurants) completed the set menu. It was a fine meal to fuel up on before a hike up the tallest mountain in the Seychelles, Morne Blanc. 

A hearty Creole lunch is definitely the best fuel for a hike up Morne Blanc - where this view awaits

ISLAND FINE DINING
Modern Seychellois Cuisine and Coco de Mer-flavoured Rum

This intimate little restaurant tucked away in another beautiful wooden colonial building just up the road from Beau Vallon beach is a must visit – even if it's only to try its inventive curry leaf-scented fresh bread.

The Belgian owner and chef Christelle Verheyden heading this little gem has definitely shunned the predictable route when putting together her menu and the courses play on local flavours  with delicate spices livening up what could have been safe choices and turning them into little plates of surprise (such as the aforementioned curry leaves-stuffed bread and a punchy cumin-laced gazpacho).

Other dishes that had me scraping the plate included a starter of silky poached duck egg with meurette sauce, lobster tails, mango and candied vegetables, a strongly flavoured local black pudding with jamalac (love apples) and a creamy avocado and chocolate dessert that I’m sure had slices of beetroot in it (but I can’t be positive). All in all a menu that just kept on giving, right down to the very last drop of delicate rum flavoured with the flesh of what is perhaps the most recognizable symbol of the Seychelles – the interestingly shaped (ahem) Coco de Mer. The chef said much of the available coco de mer production goes to China where it is prized as an aphrodisiac - I wonder why that is? :)

Local spices and herbs give a punchy kick to popular dishes like gazpacho and even humble table bread

The soft flavours of the rum proved a perfect end to a very well choreographed meal, plated with European finesse but served and flavoured with unmistakably Seychelleois ingredients. (And the rum is probably recommended for the non designated driver if you then have to negotiate Mahe’s hair-raising switchbacks back to your hotel in pitch darkness – streetlights don’t seem to be a necessity in the Seychelles).

PS: I may have been inspired by that last glass to pick up some Seychellois rum to bring home and came away with these two bottles – the Takamaka Bay St Andre 8 year old sipping rum that is meant to taste of marmalade, vanilla, oak and spice (sounds perfect for a rainy tropical night – might have to be enjoyed outside the UAE) and a lighter Takamaka Bay Rum Vesou that is meant to be enjoyed with sugarcane juice or as a base for tropical cocktails (this sounds more like a drink for the Dubai summer). 

I may have to hunt for some sugarcane juice! Any ideas where I can find some in Dubai?

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