BBQ Chicken.
The Mauritians, hands down, absolutely know how to BBQ Chicken. It’s served as the staple lunch with any tour you book, marinated and teamed up with salads and BBQ fish. It is delicious. But, this dish doesn’t stop there. Whilst driving through the small towns on the island the smell of BBQ fills your lungs, with many cafes/restaurants and milk bar like places cooking up right off the footpath. Some of the establishments were only merely wider than the BBQ itself. I didn’t eat by the street in light of my intolerances but the smell was good enough to fuel my soul.
My time in Mauritius without gluten (the European way of saying gluten free), in many ways wasn’t dissimilar from living in Australia.
We stayed in Villa Azzurra on Avenue Mirabelle in Calodyne located near Grand Gaube at the South East tip of the approx 40km x 80km spanning island. As part of our accommodation we were fortunate enough to have Danielle cooking for us, whom is no stranger to the cross over of Mauritian and Western cultures. Cooking for us was a one-off to help a friend out at Christmas time. Usually Danielle spends six months on board the Queen Victoria Cruise Ship as a waitress in the VIP section and the break is spent spending time with her daughter and fulfilling her purpose of caring for her. Danielle’s English was exceptional and we were able to have a good chat about the food.
Most Mauritian food does not contain flour and additives, similar to Thai cooking, to give you an idea. They eat curries and hot dishes all year round, which comprise of local veggies, chicken and fish. Rarely does anything come out of packages besides the rice and noodles (she swapped out noodles for me for rice most nights). In Mauritius if they can’t get the product fresh for a good price then they tend to leave it out – which isn’t ideal when you order a Mojito at the bar and they can’t make it for you because the rain has affected the mint crops. The other food that was of surprise to me was how readily Marlin was consumed; it is the most widely fished and abundant protein alongside chicken. A tourist can pick up a Marlin salad for about $15 AU which offers a good option when eating out.
However, like I would in Melbourne I vetted all the places I ate at and sadly due to dietary requirements and anxiety, I avoided some of the traditional places – but Danielle did a great job of filling that void. Lamb and Beef is on offer but at a premium price. Best choices off the menu for me were grilled fish and tuna. I learnt to always order the sauce on the side so my fish wasn’t still swimming. Garlic Butter is another great love of the Mauritians so a thing to be weary of with lactose intolerances.
Holiday Tips
To eat in: The Beach House. Owned by the French – top notch food.
On the go: The Food Lovers Market – organic supermarket but also a bakehouse, a great stop for your non-gluten-free partner 😉
Bread: Don’t even bother looking – do yourself a favour and buy rice crackers from the supermarket as an alternative. I had fun tarting them up with scrambled egg, avocado and smoked salmon.
