Spice Island

Our chef last night, Jose (Jo-sey) Sooprayen, was delightful, a long ago boy of Mauritius who used to cram his homework to completion so that he could go watch his mother cook. He then traveled the world: France, India, China, Italy, Greece, learning tricks of the trade and bringing them back to Mauritius, a place that is fusion and more fusion in its essence. One of his specialties is fried peeled bat, but he did not make that for us. I asked him about it because I kept picturing the little Kernville bat of my close encounter with batdom; but, he explained, these are large fruit bats made delicious by their diet. What Jose made for us was a fish with lots of mustard oil and seeds, and curry and garlic and chiles and new onions; it sounds impossible and tastes delicious. (Yes, I have the recipe and will make it for you next summer!) I bought the spices this morning, trying to shop for what I really wanted while freeing myself from constant arm twisting and a kind of walking behavior that is really and literally herding. Then I left my new spices and my reading glasses in the water taxi.... I asked Jose if his mother is proud of him, executive chef at Le Mauricia, a big resort, and he said she is very proud of him, and that she cooks for him when he goes home on days off.