Pressbook Constance Festival Culinary 2024

5/23/24, 1:01 PM

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

A panel including Pierre Hermé taste the pastry chefs' creations

After much tasting and deliberation, the team of Swedish chef Thomas Sjogren and Constance Prince Maurice’s Niraj Bisnauthsing were declared the winners of the competition thanks to a clever prawn tartare with tamarind crisps and Mauritian-style taro, and an elegant plate of grilled sea bass with fsh bone sauce and a braised aubergine curry. For Rohit and Rob, meanwhile, who placed a commendable third, it sounds like the festival might not even mark the end of Rob’s role as a mentor. ‘I’ve said to him that if he’s ever in London, the door is always open for a trial shift at Luca,’ he smiles. This was just one of many competitions running throughout the week, with events stretching across two hotels (Constance Belle Mare Plage and Constance Prince Maurice) and the multiple restaurants within them. The Pierre Hermé trophy followed a similar format but with six international pastry chefs pairing up with Constance pastry chefs to conjure up sweet creations including their take on a rum baba. The international pastry chefs were also tasked with creating an ‘Island Egg’ chocolate centrepiece, with Hong Kong’s Lok Him Yam ultimately taking home the prize for his exquisitely detailed, dodo-inspired creation. The Constance Café Gourmand trophy saw deftly crafted petit fours paired with Nespresso coffees, whilst the Jars Arts of the Table Trophy shifted the focus onto service and tablescaping. The wide-ranging talent on show throughout these competitions served as a refreshing reminder of the importance of every individual element of a high-end restaurant experience and the amount of work that goes into honing each of these very different crafts.

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

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