And a little role for ...... yours truly!

There was even a little cameo role for yours truly in the whole affair. And that's what hanging around an event as a photographer can sometimes lead to.
With one member of the judging panel absent on the second day, for the main course, I was roped in on the panel. So it was a quick taste and appreciation of the dish, some markings and notes, then out to shoot the dish, and back again at the judges' table - four times, so it began to look like a game of musical chairs! 
That's me below (right) pecking at the foie gras next to the fish; on my right is fellow Judge Steven Benson Flower, the Executive Chef of the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah resort.

Sadly no such services were required on the day of the Desserts, and I could only eat with my eyes, full of remorse. (But I've already made a booking at Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove!)

The ingredients of a successful Culinary event

Just as in a winning well-executed dish, it takes good ingredients to make a successful Culinary competition - a well-run institution such as the Seychelles Tourism Academy, good people and team work, good companies to help drive and support, and last but not least, good media support.
This event had all the right ingredients in all the right dozes. Flavien Joubert, the STA's Director and his team as well as a bevy of students were all hands on deck on a tightly-run ship; the media were faithfully present every day recording the tremendous work in the kitchen and the results, and the sponsors like ISPC and Oceana Fisheries who not only provided the ingredients and trimming, but plentiful snacks and refreshments for everyone who cared to attend and support, as well as members of senior management of hotels who came to give moral support.


Here's a few shots to recognise these faithful people:
Alfred Fourcroy (right) of ISPC (thanks also for the flow of Prosecco!) and Joe Tirant of Oceana Fisheries >

Members of the Judging panel >

Flavien Joubert with team members and guests >

GM Olivier Francais (left) and Chef Ulric Denis of Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove proudly flanking their hotel's Dessert category winner Verma Agricole >

and of course members of the Media diligently taking notes >

Sweet sweet somethings.......and the capricious ice-cream

There's nothing like a competition with a little drama, especially if the main star behaves somewhat erratically and throws up tantrums.
Enter Miss Movenpick, but the Ice-Cream (!) - imported and represented by ISPC, which was the main ingredient of the Dessert category, the final leg of the Seychelles Tourism Academy 2009 Culinary Competition. 
By the time the dishes went to the photographers and the judging panel, some parts of the dishes were beginning to have a mind of their own - offloading a strawberry here, making an unintended creamy pool there.
But luckily the sun was not beating down as hard as in the past two days, and things held up pretty well.
The elaborate creation of Verma Agricole from Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove (below) seduced the eyes and palates of the jury the most and earned her first prize and a trip to Singapore.

Second was Eric Bacco, from Round Island Praslin. 

Yane Ladouceur from Hilton Seychelles 

took third place,

                                                            

leaving Marcus Freminot, from

the Seychelles Tourism Academy

in fourth place,

                                

and Cindy Lepathy from 

Four Seasons Resort in fifth.         

                                

Prizing a great fish - the Job Jaune

The Job Jaune (Zob Zonn) is prized by Seychellois for its delicate flesh that lends itself to frying in batter and dishes in which light cooking brings out the best of its tender flesh. (Not to be confused with Job Gris (Zob Gri) which has a firmer flesh and is best appreciated poached and served with a home-made mayonnaise). 
So when it was presented as the principal ingredient in the main course category of STA's national culinary competition this week, the judges were particularly looking for the best rendering of this fish, the treatment that most did it justice.
Surprisingly in most dishes it came out rolled up here and encrusted there, leaving the simplest albeit sparsely garnished dish of Lemuria Resort's Daniel Agathine to run away with the first prize and a trip to Singapore.

The other finalists were Giovanni Rose (Beau Vallon Bay Hotel), 

Bradley Larue of Four Seasons Resort 

and Steven Gendron (Hilton Seychelles).

And the 4 other finalists' dishes were............

Celebrating the best Seychellois culinary talents 2009

With the stunning backdrop of  the bay of Grand'Anse Mahe sizzling in the October sunshine, the Seychelles Tourism Academy, supported by partners in the Seychelles food business, today launched an event that over the next 3 days will showcase some of the best talent in the kitchen of Seychelles' hotels.


For your visual pleasure and to wet your appetite for the gala dinner later this month when the winning dishes will be served, here's the winning dish from proud young Christelle of the Four Seasons Resort at Petite Anse, Mahe, accompanied by a photo of the
winner with her dish.

Today was the Hors d'Oeuvres day, with the principal ingredient being Prawns, and the participants could choose from dozens of other ingredients and trimming from ISPC - the principal importer of fine foods for local hotels.


Tomorrow is Main course day, with the main ingredient being Zob Zonn (Job Jaune), sponsored by Oceana Fisheries, whilst Wednesday wraps up the contest with Desserts, using Ice Cream from Swiss company Movenpick, which is imported by ISPC.

So do come back here for more mouth-watering creations and get to know the young Seychellois talents.

Tomorrow I shall be posting the other four finalists' dishes.


A delighted Flavien Joubert, director of the Seychelles Tourism Academy, told me: "This is typical of the kind of excellent collaboration that the STA enjoys with the private sector of the tourism industry". 

Other sponsors of the event were Air Seychelles and Hilton Seychelles - Northolme Resort and Spa.

Flavien is pictured here, with the guest room wing of the STA in the background.

A little grilled Makonde for Dinner

Fresh grouper (Vyey Makonde - Vielle Maconde) seasoned with salt & pepper, ginger, garlic, a touch of turmeric and some crushed bilimbis, grilled in the wok. Finger-licking.

Back to our Roots

Literally, with Cassava roots. Lunch was a very traditional affair and there's nothing the boys love better. Cassava (Mayok), grown in the garden next door, cooked in fresh coconut milk, to make Ladob Mayok, served with fried Trevally (Karang / "Carangue") and a little chutney - satini - of green (unripe) Golden Apple (frisiter / fruit de cythere) on a bed of steamed rice. 

A little on the heavy side, but very old Seychelles and perfect for the siesta that follows.

Shark for Lunch........fingers only please

Acclaimed Irish Chef Richard Corrigan, three times winner of the Great British Menu competition, writes in his latest cookbook ‘The Clatter of Forks and Spoons’: “Growing up on a farm teaches you respect for the cycles and seasonality of food…... and with each movement of the calendar, nature has something else to give us. I think there’s an appreciation about food and flavour that’s formed in your childhood…..and knowing the time and work that goes into producing good food, makes you hate to waste any of it." 

Well I can say the same about growing up in Seychelles.   


I've always known I loved food but the day it came back into my life seriously was the day my son Julio was released for a few days from hospital in Singapore after a bout of serious chemotherapy for his Cancer. It was shortly before his fourth Christmas, and the Turkey was defrosting in the fridge. The doctor warned us that he would be very greedy and very moody. Forewarned is forearmed. And true enough, after breakfast the first question was "what time is Lunch?", followed by "Anything to snack on?" and so on. 


My childhood food memories suddenly rolled through my mind like a film reel in slow motion - steamed rice with fried carangue (trevally); curried salted turtle meat - in those days an acceptable dish - with fresh coconut milk and turmeric; chatini (chutney) of young shark with bilimbis, each of which brought water to my mouth.

As I continue my journey through food, I discover that the food that I enjoy cooking the most is what is local and seasonal and comes from within a short radius of where I live - 10km, if that, for the shark, and a staggering 1.5 metres for the bilimbis!! 


The recipe is easy: boil shark with a little salt and pepper, remove skin, press out all water, pound in pestle. Chop onions, twist a few curry leaves, stir-fry in hot oil in a wok, adding garlic and ginger, then the shark meat, some pounded bilimbis, with a pinch of cumin powder at the end. Add some chillies if preferred. Unquestionably, best eaten with steamed rice or boiled breadfruit, using only your fingers!! 

Healthy and colourful food for the Children - a touch of Italian

I tend to enjoy creating new dishes only when both my boys Julio & Gio are around the house, for they really show their appreciation. I would hate to create something new and eat it behind their back. That really leaves me with only the weekend, for during the week Julio has school lunches, and after he's collected from school they all hole up at their grandma's for dinner. 

But when they're both around I go for dishes inspired by traditional Seychelles cooking, or concoct some modern healthy colourful dishes. The doctor said Julio needed more Iron in his body so I rustled up some common but highly nutritious spinach from the garden, known locally as "Bred Paryater", and mixed it with fresh baby tomatoes, some extra virgin olive oil and some parmesan shavings, et voila!! 

After all the Italians are latter-day colonisers of the islands and there's quite a crop of Seychelles girls married to Italians and living in Italy!!(where they also stay in touch with island recipes).

Cooking for 2 little appreciative gourmets and gourmands!

Please bear with me while I extract some posts from my previous blog where I mixed women and food to this one, which is mostly Food,  cooking for my boys, and testing dishes which I will serve at "Anbalaba", and why not, some musings about life and passions.

I consider myself lucky that every day I have two hungry young boys for whom I enjoy cooking. And often they bring me and their mum flowers from the garden...... often from someone else's garden, in appreciation. The elder Julio, now 6, has been cooking with me for the past few years. Gio, aged 2 1/2, is beginning to want to check what's cooking in the pot and do some basic chopping. Their early gourmet instincts and interest in food and cooking keep my on my toes and ceaselessly by the cooker.

Separating Sensual Women and Sensuous Food, alas!

Although admittedly sensual women and sensuous food do go well together sometimes, it is time to separate them in my Blogs. After a few weeks of juggling between them in one blog, the natural time has come to keep them apart as the blogging activity increases and each passion is taking a life of it's own.


So it will be "seychellesangels.blogspot" for the sensual women and this one, "anbalabaseychellesfood.blogspot" for the sensuous food. The senses win in the end. That way, when my two boys peek around the computer screen while I'm blogging they won't quiz me about whom the exposed nipple belongs to!


I've called my food and food photography blog "anbalabaseychellesfood" so that I can link it with my heritage tourism project which I write about at "anbalaba.wordpress.com" where I keep a log of the project's inspirations and progress.


Many web afficionados advise against keeping too many blogs on the go, rather much like not flogging too many horses. But since the subjects are quite separate - although they will merge in one place when "Anbalaba" launches, and after all, all these horses are on one computer!