Rum and sunshine, a cookery class on food from Mauritius

As a keen cook I'm always looking for chances to expand my knowledge and learn new things. Attending a cookery class is a fun way to do this and I've been to many, all very varied and at all sorts of different locations. Looking for something to bring a little sunshine into these long winter months I booked (on a whim) an evening cookery class with Yummy Choo through Edible Experiences at the Central Street Cookery School, just off City Road in London. I knew very little (nothing to be honest) about the food from Mauritius and had only a vague idea of the location of the country itself, so I arrived with absolutely no idea of what to expect. Arriving a little early, I was immediately put at ease, welcomed with a smile from Selina Periampillai, Yummy Choo herself and her friendly assistant. As soon as my fellow learners had all arrived and were suitably attired in an apron we were handed a cocktail of Pink Pigeon Mauritian rum with tropical fruit juice and a hint of lime and coconut, whilst Selina prepared some hot Mauritian snacks of aubergine fritters in a spiced chick pea flour batter and a fresh tomato chutney. These disappeared quickly as Selina told us how they would be commonly eaten on the beach with a rum cocktail in hand.

Cooking egg rougaille and cari poulet

Each of us were given bench space with our own 'mise en place' with all the ingredients we would need and a printed recipe sheet of the dishes we would prepare. Selina made each dish first, explaining everything carefully whilst providing lots of interesting facts on food from Mauritius. I had no idea it was such a melting pot of cultures, with dishes influenced by African, Indian, Chinese and French cultures. Interestingly thyme, more commonly associated with Mediterranean and European food, featured a lot.

Selina expertly flips the roti on the tawa

We all made three dishes, a Cari Poulet (Mauritian chicken curry), egg rougaille (eggs cooked in a Creole spiced tomato sauce) and roti (flatbread), sharing the tawa on the gas hob to finish our rotis (making these was particular fun and they tasted fantastic hot from the pan). When everyone was ready we plated up and sat down at a communal table to enjoy the fruits of our labours. Selina had prepared an additional crunchy salad and surprised us with a spiced coconut rice pudding for dessert.

Busy students

This was such a fun way to de-stress from a busy day at work and really enjoyable, particularly because Selina herself was so lovely, really friendly and approachable and instantly making everyone welcome, a real ray of tropical sunshine. I totally recommend anyone thinking of doing her classes to go ahead and book right away, you won't regret it and will come away with smile on your face and dreams of holiday on Mauritius.

The finished meal!