Seychelles food

There are many kinds of edible fish in the sea, so naturally the Seychellois eat a lot of fish, often with a tomato-based sauce. I believe that the authentic version of this sauce probably contains chilis, but the restaurants make it blander for the tourists, though they sometimes serve chili paste separately. Curry is also quite popular, and they use rice and noodles.

Meat is available: chickens, pigs, and cows were imported long ago. Vegetables are also, of course, available; but the emphasis is usually on fish.

Seychellois cooking is quite competent; they have good raw food to work with, and they don't really need a lot of imagination. They seem to have little skill in the preparation of desserts: raw fruit is probably the best choice.

When I went for lunch to the Marie Antoinette restaurant on the outskirts of Victoria, I found that it was a no-choice menu: you take what they give you. They came and covered my table with nine dishes: four kinds of fish prepared in different ways, chicken curry, aubergine fritters, salad, rice, and chili paste. I managed to eat almost all of it.

On several other occasions, I was presented with roughly the same selection of food, but in the form of a buffet, so that I could choose what and how much I wanted. The restaurant in my hotel offered a more conventional menu.