Pressbook Constance Festival Culinary 2024

5/23/24, 1:01 PM

Constance Festival Culinaire 2024: A Foodie's Paradise In Mauritius - Great British Chefs

Chefs Robert Chambers and Rohit Niranjan

For the Régis Marcon trophy, each Michelin-starred chef was paired with a chef from the Constance Hotel portfolio via random lots, drawn at a celebratory welcome dinner. Rob was partnered with chef Rohit Niranjan from the Constance Lemuria Seychelles, and they worked as a team to develop two dishes, which Rohit alone would ultimately cook during the fnal competition. For each dish, there were certain local ingredients which had to be incorporated; the frst course would include wild shrimps from Madagascar, taro leaves and tamarind, while the second would be focused around sea bass, aubergine and a spice blend made using a traditional roche cari (Mauritius’ answer to a pestle and mortar, which uses a cylindrical stone roller to crush the spices). The requirement to use these specifc Mauritian ingredients and techniques made for a fascinating dynamic within each of the chef teams. Whilst the Michelin-starred chefs like Rob were all of course experts on the likes of favour combinations, plating and time management, they needed to lean on the knowledge of their fellow team members when it came to understanding the local produce and favours they were less familiar with. ‘I honestly think that one of the most interesting things about being a chef,’ Rob explains to me, ‘is that you can learn from anyone, whatever their age or experience. And there were a few things that Rohit showed me that I didn’t even know existed and hadn’t tasted anything like before.’ This element of collaboration was perhaps at its clearest as we followed the teams around Flacq market, where they had the chance to buy some of their produce for the competition. Careful discussions were had amongst the various teams whilst leaning over stalls spilling with herbs; taro leaves were pointed out

https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/features/constance-culinaire-mauritius-2024

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