A man behind a vegetable stand
Mauritius has a unique national cuisine — one that combines contrasting heritages with the best ingredients as can be grown under the Indian Ocean sun.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor

Photo story: how Mauritius's heritage is being told through its food

Mauritians can trace their roots to Madagascar, Zanzibar and East Africa, to the four corners of India and southern China and to the Malay Peninsula and Europe— the legacy of centuries of colonial rule. Now their island’s streets are lined with temples, churches and mosques, alongside roti stands, bistros and noodle houses.

Story and photographs byMark Parren Taylor
September 15, 2023
6 min read
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
A portrait of a man
Baby Allken owns a prime piece of Port Louis real estate: a fruit stall at the entrance to the capital’s Central Market fresh produce hall. The market was established around the 1840s and some structures from that colonial era remain, including wrought iron gates crowned with ‘VR’ decorative accents in a nod to Queen Victoria.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
ladelling syrup over pineapple slices
And it’s for her that the Victoria pineapple, which grows in Mauritius and is smaller and sweeter than other varieties, was named. As well as island-grown guavas, crisp apples and lychee-like longans — which locals know as ‘dragon eye’ after the Chinese name — 66-year-old Baby’s stall is popular for its prepared Victoria pineapple drizzled with sticky, sweet-and-sour tamarind syrup and finished with a sprinkling of a salt and powdered chilli mix — a treat known as pineapple (or anana) confit. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
customers milling around the market
The Allken family has been a fixture here in the market for almost a century, and Baby himself has been here for half that time — alas, his daughter and son have successful careers in international banking, so aren’t likely to take over the stall when he retires.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
a portrait of Brenda Anthony-Nellan
Every day except Mondays, Brenda Anthony-Nellan sets up the stall she inherited from her father on Tamarin Bay, a charming setting on the southwest coast of Mauritius. It’s an area that’s popular with in-the-know surfers, and home to a fishing community that brings in marlin and yellowfin tuna on good days.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
a beach
The best way anyone can learn to cook, according to Brenda’s father, is by watching. He was the janitor at Happy Valley, a long-standing Cantonese restaurant in the centre-west town of Quatre Bornes, 10 miles south of Port Louis. He didn’t know anything about cooking, but every day he watched the chefs preparing for lunch service. Fifteen years ago, his observations paid off when he opened Blond Boulette, a food stall selling dumplings and chicken or beef mine frire (pronounced ‘mean free’) fried noodles. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
A plate of noodles
Her chow mein-like mine frire is one of the island’s best: umami-rich and slightly tangy, even better with a squirt of acidic vinegar and a spoonful or two of Brenda’s punchy coriander chutney.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
A portrait of Mario de l’Estrac
Mario de l’Estrac fears for the future of traditional Mauritian home cooking; people don’t have the time to learn — let alone make — many of the old recipes. And so, just a couple of years after retiring, he opened Karay Mario on the outskirts of Mahebourg, a busy little fishing town on the southeast coast. Each day’s menu is decided by that morning’s best ingredients — whether it’s fish, vegetables or other fresh produce gathered at Mahebourg’s market, or the wild boar and island deer brought in by specialist suppliers.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Mauritius food
The chalkboard menu might mention venison salami, gateau piment (spiced fritters) with spiced merveille crackers (deep-fried roti) and chutney, or rougaille boucane — the fragrant tomato sauce made in this case into a hearty meat stew. But look out for vindaye, the traditional island curry originally based on Goan vindaloo, made with plenty of turmeric and mustard seeds. It’s usually a splendid gravy with chicken or beef, but Karay Mario’s drier version with octopus is moreishly delicious. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
a plate of Mauritian food
He cooks it in the same way his grandparents did, and researches how cooks went about preparing spice mixes and achars (pickles), trying out age-old recipes at home before adding them to the menu.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Donovan Pallancy cooking dumplings in a large pan
When it comes to the Mauritian take on dumplings known as boulettes, Donovan Pallancy makes the best in town — and though he grew up eating them, and his fusion Mauritian heritage includes Chinese ancestors, he had to teach himself how. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Mauritius food
Twenty years ago, he started selling his dumplings on central Port Louis streets, but the wheels fell off when the city banned food carts in 2016. Despite now having a spacious corner shop, he still focuses on dumplings made to traditional recipes, championing island ingredients — the kinds Donovan can pick up in the nearby Central Market. One, for example, houses a surimi (paste) of parrotfish cheeks in a tender dumpling skin; another, Mauritian dim sum — known as nioukyen — is a steamed ball of peppered, glutinous rice, minced chicken and chayote, a courgette-like gourd known on the island as chouchou.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Published in the Indian Ocean supplement, distributed with the September 2023 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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