All on track for first culinary and arts fiesta on Praslin |01 August 2014

The team working on the first-ever Praslin Culinary and Arts Fiesta to be held from September 5 to 7 are putting the final touches to the three-day event.
Stakeholders met in a meeting recently at the Seychellois owned Domaine de la Reserve Hotel at Anse Petite Cour in the Baie Ste Anne district of Praslin to finalise the event.

Chaired by the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, the meeting was attended by principal secretaries for tourism and culture Anne Lafortune and Benjamine Rose respectively, member of the National Assembly for the Grand Anse Praslin district Marc Volcère and for Baie Ste Anne Natasha Esther, tourism establishment owners and the principal of the Seychelles Tourism Academy Flavien Joubert.

Minister St Ange said the main aim of this one-of-a-kind fiesta is to help reposition the island of Praslin as a tourism destination centred on authentic culinary delights and to increase the island's visibility.

During the meeting, it was discussed and agreed that there will be three competitions namely: professional chef for a meat dish, a fish dish and a dessert, a non-professional category for Praslinois home-cooking enthusiasts and the construction of a creole kiosk contest which will be used at Côte D'Or for the fiesta.

For the two culinary contests, guidelines and criteria are being drafted by the tourism academy and these will be given to those taking part.
Those taking part must prepare authentic creole dishes to present to the panel of jury. For the professional culinary contest, each hotel is allowed to enter in all three categories, and it can be up to three chefs from the same establishment.
Judging of the two culinary contests will be held at the Domaine de la Reserve.
A sum of R1000 is to be paid by each hotel as registration fee for each participating chef. The top three winners in each category will receive prizes.

The prize giving ceremony will be held during the closing ceremony of the three-day fiesta on September 7, where winners will be announced.

It was also agreed during the meeting that all members of the jury will be Seychellois, and the same panel of jury will be for both categories.

The official opening ceremony is set for Friday September 5 at 6.30pm at Amitié, whereby the parliamentarians of the two district on the island will have the chance to address the audience. After the official ceremony, there will be entertainment and musical performances.

The following day, Saturday, there will be sports activities such as a marathon and fishing competition and other popular activities.
Kiosks will be mounted at Côte D’Or near the Berjaya Praslin Beach hotel, where activities will take place.

Local Praslin-made products will be on sale in those kioks. Minister St Ange is calling on vendors not to bring in imported toys and crafts to sell, as the event aims to promote Praslin with all its traditional aspects.

These kiosks will have to be registered and there will be a fee attached to it for each kiosk owner. There will be a competition for all kioks which will be judged on creativity among other criteria.

Praslinois and visitors to the island will get the chance to enjoy the ambiance of the famous Dimans Moutia, which will be held on Saturday night. The closing ceremony of the fiesta will be held on Sunday at 3pm.

The highlight of the three-day event will be the coco-de-mer tasting. The kernel of the coco-de-mer, which is known for its aphrodisiac qualities, will be used in products such as bread, parfait, mousse and flan. This special dish will be available only through the Seychelles Tourism Academy kiosk where a controlled distribution arrangement is being organised. Tasting sessions are already taking place after initial preparations were launched at the tourism academy for creative use of a product endemic to Seychelles and today being used to firmly position its unique gardens and its island of Praslin on the tourism map.  

The media will be highly involved as from now leading up to the event so as to increase the publicity and visibility of the fiesta. The tourism board is also making arrangements for foreign journalists to fly to Seychelles to cover this first edition of the Praslin Culinary and Arts Fiesta and to taste the Seychelles endemic coco-de-mer.