With our exclusive After Hours Club bringing some Mauritian heat to British Airways i360 on 3 November, The Club meets the event’s guest speaker and chef, Shelina Permalloo, to find out what makes Mauritian cuisine so special.

Don’t miss out – you can book your tickets here

Fusion power
Mauritian cuisine is best described as true fusion, a blend of African, French, Chinese and Indian food culture due to the unique ethnic make-up of the island. My Mauritian heritage and the traditions of our cuisine are very important to my cooking, but as my food is modern, it’s important to learn about other styles of cooking to enhance my own. Right now, I’m particularly influenced by my love of Far Eastern and north African cuisine.

Street snacking
Arguably the island’s most popular street food, dal puri is a thin pancake-like bread stuffed with ground yellow split peas and served with butterbean curry, and is the one thing us Mauritians miss most when away from the island. Another one-of-a-kind offering is the bol renverse (pictured) – a dish that I’ve never been able to find a replica for in other countries, though it’s most similar to a chop suey. This dish is all about the presentation, served from an upside down bowl with a fried egg on top.

Bourgeois bites
Mauritians love their afternoon tea. A quintessentially British affair, although marked with a Mauritian twist, we have vanilla sweet tea and usually something sweet like napolitaine biscuits. These are incredibly short shortbreads, sandwiched with strawberry jam and topped with a garish pink icing – a fond childhood memory for me.

Mum’s the word
The idea behind my restaurant’s name (Lakaz Maman is the Creole word for ‘Mum’s House’) is to show that we’re all about serving home-style food but with a modern twist. It’s not about fine dining – our aim is to create a relaxing environment where people can enjoy what’s being served. That’s quite typical of the Mauritian style of dining.

Top picks
If you’re heading to Mauritius, there are a few absolute must-see sights, one being the Île aux Cerfs – a beautiful island off the east coast, home to the renowned Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club. But for a foodie fix, take a trip to Marche de Flacq fruit and vegetable market, or Mahébourg’s Monday market out on the waterfront for exquisite takeaway bites.

Discover the flavours of Mauritius for yourself at our next After Hours Club at British Airways i360 in Brighton – you can book your tickets here

Guests must arrive promptly by 6:30pm for security checks before a 7pm flight, followed by a three-course dinner – a collaboration between Shelina and BAi360 head chef Alan Parker – which will include Mauritian tuna curry and Shelina’s banana lattice. Event to finish at 10pm. Tickets cost £50 per person. Please note that guests arriving after 6.30pm cannot be guaranteed entry to the pod flight. 

British Airways i360 – the world's tallest moving observation tower – was conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects, creators of the London Eye.

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This article has been tagged Food + Drink, Destination