My first exposure to French Creole food was thanks to Andre Gourbet, whose father Édouard Goubert was the first Chief Minister of Puducherry. The biggest market place in Puducherry bears his name, a testimony to his hard work and conviction towards upliftment of the poor. Gourbet market sells everything from fresh vegetables to meat, fish, poultry, and everything needed to cook up a tasty meal. It also provides the local fishermen a great opportunity to sell fresh catch, eliminating the middleman.

Creating a Creole menu for hotel De L’Orient was a challenge, even though there was a very able cook called Pradeep who could rustle up a tasty meal in the shortest possible time. He just needed some fine tuning. The biggest obstacle was that while the construction and décor were being done, Francis sent many international celebrities and friends to try out the food and rooms and give a feedback. Most of the food was a resounding success, especially the Creole meat ball curry and the Madame Rosammas prawns. 

Whenever Aman and Francis came down to complete the décor, I accompanied them on many of their shopping expeditions and also got the opportunity to witness wonderful concerts they organised at the property. I met so many of their celebrity friends from all walks of life. I enjoyed the contribution I made and I’m thrilled at the fact that it is now a UNESCO Heritage Centre. I look back on those days as the most rewarding experience. I personally entertained a lot of important people which included Italian ambassadors and American Consul Generals to state heads from various countries. They all had a taste of Puducherry Creole food. 

The cuisine is a true representation of its history through an anthology of recipes that conjures pictures of ancient kitchens where Tamil cooks worked for European masters and learnt the art of pleasing their palates while retaining their own sensibilities. Some of the recipes are authentic Tamilian while others are entwined with French cooking methods. Recipes like ragou papillote, gigot daube and petit rates are obviously French in name but the recipes include commonly used local spices like ginger, garlic, cinnamon, coriander, coconut and curry leaves among others, giving them a distinct Indian flavour and making them native to Puducherry. Many French recipes have Indian names with apparent Tamilian influences. For example, mouton aux petit pois is called pachaiy pattani curry (Green peas curry). The Puducherry vindail has ingredients that are entirely different from its Goan counterpart vindaloo. The common vein that runs through all the versions of vindaloo is the use of garlic and vinegar. Out of all the dishes Andre Gourbet liked, I’m sharing the one I enjoyed the most, kothamalli pudina kozhi varutha curry.