Africa-Press – Seychelles. Traditional French wines, cheeses and dishes as well as all aspects of French cuisine and products will be showcased at the Gout de France International Festival (Taste of France) in Seychelles this year.
The French Ambassador to Seychelles, Olivia Berkeley-Christmann, gave the official green light to the French residence in La Misère on Monday.
The festival will take place from April 22 to 30 and customers of participating establishments will be treated to French specialties such as cheeses, Ricard liqueur and purely French dishes as part of the event.
Present at the kick-off were representatives from Delplace Restaurant and the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) on the main island of Mahé, as well as the Club Med resort on Sainte Anne Island. They are all participating in the festival alongside the Four Seasons Resort, Gou Notik, Hilton Northolme Resort, Story Hotel and La Belle Tortue.
Initiated by the French diplomatic network around the world to promote its cuisine and products, the competition has been taking place in Seychelles since 2015, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism.
Pierre Delplace, owner of Delplace restaurant, told reporters that this time people “will get a glimpse of French culture through a dish, an appetizer and even a drink. I gave the chef at my restaurant the recipe for My mother’s Boeuf Bourguignon to give people a taste of how it’s done.
Mr. Delplace also explained that another aspect of French gastronomy that will also be present in his establishment is the tradition of the aperitif.
“When you’re invited to eat in France, the first thing you get is an aperitif, so our customers will have Ricard and another two to enjoy as part of the festival,” he said.
This year, even if countries associate French gastronomy with the Olympic Games which will take place in Paris from July to August, the participating chefs had a little more freedom in the dishes they wanted to present.
Ryan Marie, STA instructor, explained that although the establishment is only participating in the event on Monday, “we used our traditionally Seychellois ingredients to make typical French dishes.”
Among the ingredients processed in French dishes were vanilla and cinnamon used in pastries.
Club Med Seychelles representative Adrien de Robillard described a buffet of around 25 French cheeses and charcuterie as “being cutting edge at Club Med since we don’t really have a set menu”.
The establishments that participated in the event will all receive at the end of the event a certificate of participation for the promotion of French gastronomy.
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