Using Mauritius sugar to make sweet dreams come true
Mauritius is known for its beautiful beaches and exceptional coral reefs. With her knowledge of the different types of sugar that grow on the island, chef Sandy Scioli provides a real and healthy variety for the palate.
Transcript
00:00 These are for sure the healthiest cakes you will eat today.
00:06 So yes, you can have your less sugar cake and eat it.
00:11 These spectacular high tea patisseries at Sugar Beach are low in sugar and follow Chef
00:15 Sani Shiali's Flavors of Change philosophy, reducing the sugar content in her pastry,
00:21 patisseries and desserts all in favor of natural ingredients.
00:26 So you know this is where my passion comes from and especially using sugar responsibly.
00:34 Sugar cane, it's in my DNA.
00:37 You know, I was born near a sugar cane field and my father was working in a sugar cane
00:44 mill.
00:45 Sugar is my story.
00:49 The most important thing you know when I create a recipe is the taste and the balance in the
00:54 sugar.
00:55 It is not you know to remove the sugar.
00:58 Sometimes when you put too much sugar you don't have the real taste of the product.
01:04 The sugar we have in Mauritius is intense so you don't need to put a lot because each
01:12 different sugar has a special role to balance the natural taste of a dessert.
01:19 For example, you know the vanilla, it's the base of several desserts.
01:24 So the demerara sugar will enhance the vanilla taste.
01:30 I have a very good producer in Mauritius.
01:33 His name is Selva and his place is unbelievable and the vanilla is organic.
01:39 The raw ingredients Chef Sani sources for sunlight from across the island help elevate
01:44 flavors to such a degree that adding extra sugar is not needed.
01:49 I love to come here because you know it's resourceful to find you know the special product.
01:55 I can be creative you know.
01:58 I can imagine things and you can have you know good products naturally produced and
02:04 hunt you know for the perfect product with a good supplier that understands you know
02:10 what I'm going to do.
02:13 So he can you know share all his knowledge and he can propose me a lot of ideas.
02:19 So this is the paradise of flavors.
02:24 It may sound like a novel culinary concept, creating desserts with low sugar.
02:29 Not so.
02:30 It is a skill that she mastered years ago when she became the first female pastry chef
02:34 in world-renowned Chef Bernard Lassois' three-star Michelin restaurant in France,
02:38 a three-year apprenticeship that benchmarked her pastry making.
02:46 So this is a crunch made with sweet dough, muscovado sugar, coconut and cocoa butter.
02:55 I created this dessert when I first arrived in Mauritius because I fell in love with the
03:02 papaya and you know especially the taste with the lemon and also with vanilla.
03:07 The papaya you know it's a natural flavor and it's neutral.
03:11 So as you can see here the papaya is quite fresh.
03:15 It's just mixed up with some vanilla, some glaze and that's it.
03:19 It's not cooked.
03:21 So here I'm going to put some vanilla cream.
03:25 So here's some coconut flakes.
03:28 I had in mind you know what I have learned with Chef Bernard Lassois.
03:33 You must not have more than four tastes in a dish.
03:38 I said wow papaya goes very well with lemon, vanilla, tamarind.
03:43 And you have the great color of the papaya which is like orange or even like salmon you
03:48 know it's really nice.
03:50 And then on the top you have crunchy biscuit.
03:55 So here is the yogurt sorbet.
03:57 So I'm going to put some tamarind.
04:06 Chef Sandy's recipe creations for Sun Life Resorts are all about crafting delightful
04:10 pathways for sustainable behavior both in what we consume and from where.
04:15 How do you think?
04:17 It's good?
04:18 Perfect.
04:19 Good choice.
04:20 A perfect match.
04:21 I felt also that I have the duty to come back and to share you know my experience and my
04:27 knowledge.
04:28 I don't want to keep this for myself.
04:30 I think this is very important you know.
04:33 I just want to share it.
04:36 And she did in a spectacular way.
04:39 In February 2023, the Mauritius team she led came 15th in the sought-after World Pastry
04:44 Cup.
04:45 Now Mauritius you know is on the world stage.
04:49 The young generation must continue to develop you know the low sugar trends and it's good
04:54 for your health too.
04:55 Thank you.
04:56 Cheers.
04:56 Cheers.
04:58 Cheers.
04:59 Cheers.
04:59 (upbeat music)