Mami-Eggroll: Creole Cooking class in Seychelles

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Creole Cooking class in Seychelles

I was intrigued by the Cooking Class offered by Avani Seychelles Barbarons so I made a reservation with the head chef, Ashley from Australia and we were all set for the next day. There were two option, Creole and Thai but I felt like I knew how to make the Thai dishes so I opted for the Creole.

Originally, we had planned on cooking al fresco on the beach but due to the winds and threats of a storm, they made the decision to head indoors and use the kitchen at their onsite specialty restaurant, Tamarind.

Mami Eggroll with Avani chefs from Thailand, Australia and Seychelles

I arrived at the site at the negotiated time and everything was all set up. Fresh ingredients was laid on the counter and a small staff was prepared for me. An assistant came to take my drink request of Pino Grigio and we were ready to cook! Throughout the session, he was very helpful in taking pictures, getting me a refreshment cloth and basically anything else that was needed.

There were times when the chef did more of the cooking and I did more of the drinking and taking pics...

Our first course was a tuna tar-tare. The chef brought out sushi grade tuni and showed me how to mince the fish properly. We made a passion fruit vinaigrette to dress the papaya salad on the side.

Next up was the mashed pumpkin that would be served as a side dish. The chef had parboiled the pumpkin to save us time and all I had to do was mash it and chop up some veggies and herbs. It was a bit too zesty for my liking. I would have held back on the fresh lemon juice.

My favorite was the octopus curry, The chef had parboiled the octopus so it was tender before we cooked it. We added curry spice, eggplant and coconut milk, very much like a Thai dish.

For our main entree, we grilled a red snapped and made a Creole tomato base sauce to top off the fish.

Lastly, the dessert dish was sweet potatoes slow-cooked with sugar and vanilla. It was all-right,

My favorite part of the cooking class was that the chefs taught me how to garnish plates. I learned how to make a rose tomato, passion fruit dipping sauce holders and slivered pepper garnishes.

After we finished, the Mo joined me for lunch in the main dining room. All the dishes looked so amazing! We had so much food leftover that they packed it up, stored it for us and served it again for dinner! It was definitely an incredible experience and I'd recommend it to anyone! I felt like a VIP and the whole sessions was so much fun! Kudos to the staff at AVANI!