Celebrating Creole Cuisine – The Award Ceremony

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

In September, I wrote a post about the Academy of Culinary Art for the Creole World's participation in the Fête de la Gastronomie, which included three days of celebration of Creole cuisine.

The Academy falls under the aegis of l’Institut Le Monde Créole (Creole World Institute), whose mission is to promote and defend Creole culture around the world. The Academy’s particular charge is to safeguard, promote, and defend Creole gastronomy.

Part of that mission was fulfilled when, on December 20, 2014, the Creole World Institute held its first award ceremony to celebrate the best of Creole cuisine in the Francophone world.

Trophées de l’Art Culinaire Créole award
The goal of the award ceremony, called Trophées de l’Art Culinaire Créole (Trophies for Creole Culinary Art), is to highlight the contributions that Creole cuisine has made and continues to make to French cuisine. Several categories of awards have been created, including:

Trophée Entrepreneurs (Entrepreneur Trophy): for those who respect Creole culinary traditions and promote them through their preparation of traditional, modern, and innovative dishes

Trophée “avenir” (“Future” Trophy): for a young culinary professional who particularly distinguished himself or herself over the course of the last 1-2 years

Trophée d’Honneur (Trophy of Honor): for persons (whether culinary professionals or not) who demystify and passionately promote the recognition of Creole cuisine

Grand-Prix de l’Academie de l’Art Culinaire du Monde Créole (Grand Prize of the Academy of Culinary Art for the Creole World): for a person selected by the Academy

Grand-prix d’Honneur de la l’Art Culinaire Créole (Grand Prize of Honor for Creole Culinary Art): for a person, institution, or geographical entity (city, region…) that has particular distinction in the domain of culinary culture.

Prix d’Excellence (Excellence Prize): for a person who has devoted his or her life to the defense, promotion, recognition, and dissemination of knowledge about Creole cuisine.

The ceremony took place at the Espace Reuilly in the 12th arrondissement. It was organized with the patronage and support of George Pau-Langevin, France’s Minister of Overseas Territories; the Department of Mayotte, which was recently named as a French territory; and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, among others.

Ceremony attendees
Eleven prizes were awarded in front of a crowd of ~300 persons. The winners (see below) hail from Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion Island. They conduct their professional activities in these locations, as well as in Monaco, Toulouse, and the Paris region.

Three of the laureates work in the Paris region:

Babette de Rozières, winner of the Grand Prize of Honor for Creole Culinary Art, operates a restaurant called La Case de Babette. It is located in Maule, a small town in the department of Les Yvelines.

Babette de Rozières
Grand Prize of Honor for Creole Culinary Art
Gustave Monpierre, winner of one of the four Trophies of Honor awarded, operates a restaurant called DouDou Kréyol. It is located in Alfortville. Monpierre and his restaurant were the winners of the Marmite d’Or, another gastronomic prize awarded to excellent African and Caribbean restaurants, in 2010 and 2012. DouDou Kréyol participated in the Fête de la Gastronomie in September.

Gustave Monpierre
Trophy of Honor
Marie-José Le Guen-Geoffoy, winner of a Trophy of Honor, serves as the head chef for France’s Ministry of Overseas Territories. She has been at the helm of the kitchen there for 14 years.

Marie-José Le Guen-Geoffoy (podium) - Trophy of Honor
Minister of Overseas Territories George Pau-Langevin (background)
*THE WINNERS
1) Trophée Entrepreneur - Cuisine Traditionnelle
*Eddy BIAS (Martinique)
Restaurant Le Pignon Nouvelle Vague
Anse à l'ane/Trois Ilets, Martinique

2) Trophée Entrepreneur - Cuisine Moderne
*Andjizi DAOUECHE (Mayotte)
Television show - Mayotte 1ère
Pamandzi, Mayotte

3) Trophée Entrepreneur - Cuisine Novatrice
*Jimmy BIBRAC (Guadeloupe)
Restaurant Aux Epices
Bouillante, Guadeloupe

4) Trophée "Avenir"
*Jean-Rony LERICHE (Guadeloupe)
Restaurant Le Riche des Saveurs
Toulouse, France

5) Trophée d'Honneur
*Christian ANTOU (La Réunion) -
Association GOUTANOU
Petite Ile, Ile de la Réunion

6) Trophée d'Honneur
*Gustave MONPIERRE (Guadeloupe)
Restaurant Doudou Kréyol
Alfortville (Paris region), France

7) Trophée d'Honneur
*Naomi MARTINO (Guadeloupe)
Artisan chocolatier
l'Ecrin du Chocolat
Baie Mahault, Guadeloupe

8) Trophée d'Honneur
*Marie-José LE GUEN-GEOFFOY
Chef de cuisine - Ministère des Outre-mer
Paris, France

9) Grand Prix de l'Art Culinaire Créole
*Marcel RAVIN (Martinique)
Chef of the kitchens at Blue Ray
Monte Carlo Bay, Monaco

10) Grand Prix d'Honneur de l'Art Culinaire Créole
*Babette de ROZIERES (Guadeloupe)
Restaurant la Case de Babette
Maule (Paris region), France

11) Prix d'Excellence
*Jean-Charles BREDAS (Martinique)
Maître-restaurateur
Le Bredas
St Joseph, Martinique

All photos courtesy of l'Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole.

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La Charrette Créole - Cuisine from the Indian Ocean

Recently, Tom and I had the occasion to dine at La Charrette Créole, a friendly little Indian Ocean oasis in the heart of Montparnasse. It is located next door to the former address of Chez Honey, an art gallery/night club operated by Herb Gentry and his first wife, Honey Johnson, during the heyday of the post World War II African-American expat era. The restaurant won the coveted Marmite d'Or award in 2009, so we were anxious to sample the dishes that they prepare.

Façade of La Charrette Créole
© Discover Paris!
We were greeted warmly by the proprietor, Sylvain, who is from Mauritius. He heard us speaking English as we perused the menu outside, and he instantly began speaking to us in English as he welcomed us inside. His wife, Sidonie (from Madagascar) was equally friendly.

We were seated at a corner table next to the short side of the bar, as much of the small dining room was occupied by tables for four to eight persons. Several large parties arrived during the evening, and we were grateful to have our privacy.

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We were in the mood for culinary exploration that evening, so we began by ordering rhum arrangés (flavored rums). Mine was ginger-flavored, and Tom's was flavored with a citrus fruit called combava, which is native to the region. I envied Tom his drink, because I found it to be much more to my liking than my ginger concoction!

The condiments for our meal were placed on the table at the same time that our drinks were served. They consisted of rougail tomates (a sort of tomato salsa), rougail cacahuetes (a grainy, peanut paste), and piment (pulverized hot, green peppers in a thick sauce).

Condiments
© Discover Paris!
For the first course, I ordered bouchons saucisses and Tom ordered beignets de chouchou (christophène). We failed to remember that portions in Creole restaurants tend to be copious, and were surprised to find six morsels of our selected entrée plus a generous salad of achards de légumes (a slaw) on our plates. Tom consumed his entire dish, while I prudently left room for the courses that would follow.

Beignets de chouchou
© Discover Paris!

Bouchons saucisses
© Discover Paris!
For the main course, both Tom and I selected cabri massalé, which was stewed goat marinated in numerous spices. It was served with red beans and basmati rice. We both found the goat to be scrumptious! I was happy that I did not finish my starter so that I could fully enjoy this dish. Again, I prudently forewent eating a full serving of rice and beans during this course so that I could save room for dessert.

Cabri massalé
© Discover Paris!
Tom ordered a Madagascan beer - Three Horses - to accompany his meal. It was a pilsner, and he thought it was of average quality.

Desserts are always on the simple side in Creole restaurants. We both opted for ice cream and/or sorbet for this course. The restaurant offers three scoops of one or more flavors on their list. I decided to take advantage of my ability to choose multiple flavors, and selected corrosol, lime, and ginger. Tom chose to order three scoops of corrosol (soursop). The scoops were moderately sized, and each was topped with a dollop of whipped cream. We both found our selections to be light and not overly sweet. They were the perfect culmination to our meal.

When we asked for the check, we were served a complimentary rhum arrangé that is called simply "rhum arrangé." Flavored with cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla, we found it to be quite good. Next time we visit La Charrette Créole, we may well order this particular drink as our apéritif.

Rhum arrangé
© Discover Paris!
Service was friendly though somewhat uneven, with multiple servers coming to our table throughout the evening. The most exuberant of our servers was Lucie from Madagascar, pictured below.

Lucie, our server
© Discover Paris!
Dinner for two was a modest 57 euros. Based on the quality of the food and the prices on the menu, we intend to return to La Charrette Créole!

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