heritage-resorts-stories-2019

| PEOPLE
AND GOD
CREATED
Women…
Photos: Eric Lee
NATURAL, KIND-HEARTED, DELICATE, CHARMING
WITH A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR, LET’S MEET
THESE EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN OF THE SOUTH
WHO ARE BORN-ENTREPRENEURS.
MALA,
THE WARRIOR
This cordon-bleu was a cane
cutter for 17 years but after
an unfortunate event, was
forced to stop. She then
turned to catering, starting
out with Hindu receptions.
Next she started selling roti 1
and dholl puri 2 , then created
a table d’hôte with Explore
nou zil, a 100% Mauritian
family business that
offers bike tours through
picturesque areas of the
island. “Ever since I was young,
I took an interest in cooking
and learned everything on my
own,” says Mala. The maestro
of the kitchen gets up at
4 in the morning to start
preparing for her day, which
is always busy. She prepares
a variety of curries and
chutneys as well as dholl puri
and roti that she then
delivers to the two hotels in
Bel Ombre. A further portion
is given to his eldest son,
who sells them in a very busy
area of the region. The rest
she keeps for her treasured
table d’hôte, which has been
in operation for several years
now. On her table, there’s
tasty Mauritian food such as
gato-pima 3 and samoussas.
Her guests can even join her
in the kitchen to learn how to
roll the roti dough in a lively
atmosphere. This sharing
of her passion has enabled
Mala’s products to travel to
Europe, the United States
and Canada. “The tourists
commend me on my cooking.
When they come here, they
always leave with an order
of dholl puri and roti to take
home with them.” Today, Mala
is proud to have seen her
business flourish with the
help of her family.
1
A flatbread prepared with flour and water.
2
A flatbread prepared with yellow split peas.
3
A fried dumpling made with yellow spilt peas.
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| HERITAGE RESORTS STORIES
HERITAGE RESORTS STORIES | 71