Characteristic products
Beans. Red beans are the most popular in local dishes, but black and white beans are also grown. Harvesting, which is very typical, is always done in song and exclusively by women!
Limon. These delicious little limes are the envy of Mauritians. They are used candied or mixed with chilli pepper and served as an accompaniment (they're called "piments-limons"), or squeezed to make juice.
Corn. For many years, until the great drought of the 1970s, corn was a staple of Rodriguan cuisine. It is still served in restaurants offering typically local menus. Ground and often accompanied by red beans and ourite curry, it is excellent.
Peppers. Picked fresh, the small Rodriguan chillies have a very specific taste, both fragrant and spicy. They form the basis of many accompanying sauces.
Meat and poultry. Unlike Mauritius, livestock farming is a fact of life in Rodrigues, and few families don't own at least one pig, or even cattle, goats and poultry. As all these animals graze in the open air and feed almost exclusively on Mother Nature's produce, the result is top-quality meat! Rodrigues' corn-fed, free-range chicken is particularly prized. Pork, which is often smoked, is also excellent. Another local specialty is Rodrigues sausages, which can be seen drying in front of some houses.
Specialties include honey chicken, chicken with lime and sweet potato, Rodrigues ham, Creole pleau, etc.
Sea products
Ourites (octopus with delicate tentacles) and calamari, known in Rodrigues as mourgates, are cooked everywhere: in salads, dried, fried, in curries, daubes or vindaye... in short, in every sauce and for every occasion! Rodrigues' lagoons are also home to some excellent small shellfish: cono-cono and burgot, served as salads, or tec-tec, prepared as a salad, au gratin or served as a broth. Mussels are also harvested, although it is not customary to eat them locally. A few restaurateurs prepare them for holidaymakers. Fish, straight out of the lagoon, is simply grilled over a wood fire, or served in broth, curry, etc.
Sweet treats
A must: locally-produced eucalyptus honey, which can be found all over the island. In the kitchen, it can be used to enhance desserts, savoury dishes or jarred preparations.
Otherwise, the island abounds in exotic fruits: pineapples, bananas, mangoes, jamrosas, guavas, coconuts, various citrus fruits... Papayas in particular are a traditional delicacy for the festive season, served plain, in salads, cooked or in jam.. These fruits are the ingredients of choice for local pastries such as gratin de papaye, flan coco, gâteau patate (made with sweet potato and grated coconut), câteaux cocos (grated coconut coated with melted, almost caramelized sugar, then cooled)... And above all, the tourte rodriguaise : a pastry made from flour and eggs, filled with coconut and papaya jam... Light, light!
Eating Habits
Fast food. No fast-food outlets, just street vendors offering snacks for a handful of rupees. Like Mauritius, the island also boasts many small gargotes or boutiks where you can get your fill of fried mines or Indian and/or Creole dishes at low prices.
Restaurants. Far less expensive than those in Mauritius, they rarely offer very long menus, but rather home cooking based on local dishes, sometimes reduced to a few dishes of the day depending on what's caught, in season and on the market. Very few restaurants offer the traditional Rodriguan dish of corn and red beans, which takes several hours to prepare. Pizzas and other international dishes are only served in the more touristy areas.
Tables d'hôtes. Unlike Mauritius, Rodrigues is home to a number of authentic "tables d'hôtes". There's no à la carte menu here, just a meal of the day concocted by the hostess, just like at home. Some of them are masters in the art of hospitality and cooking, and have built up a solid reputation, such as Jeanette Baudoin near Grande Montagne, Françoise Baptiste in Graviers, Raffaela near La Ferme... It's worth noting that bed & breakfasts often also serve as tables d'hôtes, and regularly welcome non-residents. In any case, to enjoy a hearty, traditional lunch or dinner, or to sample dishes not served in restaurants, remember to let us know you're coming.
Jams, preserves and jars
They line store shelves and color market stalls. Rodrigues' specialities are sold in jars and are great souvenirs to revive on your plate. Typical products include achards, chatinis, chillies (limon chillies, sweet and sour chillies, pure crushed chillies...), as well as original tamarind and bilimbi jams. All these products are homemade, to generally high standards of hygiene.
The best place to buy this type of food and prepare a Rodriguese picnic is the Port-Mathurin market on Saturday mornings: jars, but also fresh and candied fruit, pies, cakes, local sweets..
Bassagnio - tel. 230 5743 7404 - The best pepper preparations on the island: piment limon, piment ourite, piment pur..
Valerie's - Le Havre Gourmand - tel. 230 5875 7650 - The island's finest jams, made exclusively from citrus fruit, blended or not with other fruits from the garden such as mango, pineapple, carambola... without preservatives or colorants. A boutique in Citronnelle.
